


Come What May

by afteriwake



Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-14 12:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1266760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Kirk knows no one wants to work at an amusement park for the rest of their life, but other than abysmal management he's got it pretty good. But then his old company is bought out by a new one, bringing new management, new friends, new relationships and one very bitter sibling rivalry, and it's all he can do to keep his sanity and make sure everyone stays safe from the newfound threat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, anyone who knows my Sherlock fanfic knows I like doing AUs. This AU, however, was written for **kirkbigbang** on LJ, hence the Star Trek focus. The idea came when my photo company was bought out by another company last year (I work at an amusement park in Southern California) and would have been finished sooner if we hadn't been bought out _again_ last month (I didn't want to think about work drama). So this is a fairly accurate description of what it's like to be a photographer at an amusement park. I hope all of you enjoy it.
> 
> Also! While it isn't anything graphic, there are rape threats and brief discussions of rape, so you've been warned.

Nobody wants to make their living working for an amusement park, not really. James Kirk realized this a month after he started working for Stagecoach West, which was the largest Wild West themed amusement park on the West Coast. He wasn't even working for the actual park; he worked for the photography company that was a third party vendor, Lexington Photos. If he had worked for the actual park he might have been happier, because he probably would have been treated better. He hated to admit it, but management for his company didn't know what the hell they were doing. All the people who could have made the place better just gave up and transferred out of there or quit. There was such a high turnover rate that it wasn't even worth learning the names of all the new people who started, part-time and management alike. Literally there were only two of them at the company who actually gave a damn, and that was him and Spock. If it wasn't for the two of them they probably would have lost every competent employee the company had. 

Today was a good day, though. Today was a day where it was just him and Spock coming in to manage and all of his favorite employees were coming in today. He didn't mind the new people, but the men and women he hung out with outside of work were all scheduled today, so he had to admit he was looking forward to a drama free day today. Yeah, it was going to be a ten hour shift for him, but at least he wouldn't be there with the bosses. He was thankful for that. He arrived at the site's employee entrance and ran his ID card through at the turnstile. He was just about to push through to get into the park when he heard a shrill whistle. He turned and saw Leonard “Bones” McCoy and Montgomery “Scotty” Scott coming up. “Hey guys. You're here early,” he said with a frown. He glanced behind them and saw Nyota Uhura and Carol Wallace close behind them. “You guys aren't supposed to be here for a while.”

“You didn't check your e-mail last night?” McCoy said. McCoy was older than him and a born pessimist, but he was one of Kirk's closest friends. They'd come into the company at the same time and had survived just about all the upheaval together. Scotty was another man who was older than him who worked there. He'd transferred in from another part of the company, one of the Scottish offices, and had almost left again within the first two weeks, but Kirk had convinced him to stay. If it wasn't for those two he'd probably have lost his mind ages ago.

Kirk shook his head. “I was sick yesterday, remember? I was out by five. The only time I used my phone since yesterday afternoon was when the alarm woke me up this morning.”

“We all got told to be here for an eight o'clock meeting. Something about changes to the company,” Scotty said. “I canna imagine it's good news.”

“Probably not,” he said, pushing through the turnstile. McCoy and Scotty swiped their cards and the three of them waited for the women to join them, and Kirk realized that Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov and Spock were also on their way. The five of them waited for everyone else to join them. “I'd have thought they'd tell management, at least.” 

“Maybe it has to do with management,” Uhura said with a slight shrug. She was the only one not wearing her uniform under her coat, but Kirk knew she only wore it for as little time as possible. Not that he blamed her; their uniforms weren't all that comfortable to be in, especially the one for the old fashioned photo booth. He had been thankful when he'd been promoted to management so he could come to work in slacks and dress shirts. She turned her head to look at the others. “Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll put Jim here in charge.”

“I hope we are not all getting fired,” Chekov said as they began to move towards the offices the photo company had. Chekov was one of the younger employees at the job. At nineteen he wasn't able to join everyone else in the group for drinks, and therefore he was held as the kind of Russian mascot of the group. Part of the reason everyone loved him so much was his endless amount of optimism. McCoy grumbled about it some, but Kirk really liked the kid. They'd hang out and play video games when Kirk didn't feel like drowning his work related sorrows with his older coworkers. “I actually like this job.”

“You must be the only one,” McCoy said sourly. “I mean, other than Jim here. And maybe Spock.”

“I do not find I need to enjoy the job to do it well,” Spock said. Of all the people in the group, he was the biggest mystery. There was only two people in the entire company who knew his first name, if he even had one, and that was Uhura and the district manager, a man named Christopher Pike. Kirk considered Spock to be one of his good friends, but even so there was a whole hell of a lot he didn't know about him. The name thing was just the start. Spock had an unnatural calm that made everyone wonder exactly what his life had been like before he'd joined the company. Of everyone in the group he'd been there the longest. “However it helps that I have a good management style.”

“You and Jim are the only ones here who do,” Scotty said. “I'da quit a year ago if you two hadna convinced me to stay. As it is, there's still days I think everyone in management except you two needs to be fired.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Kirk said with a grin. He took a sip of the coffee he had bought on his way to work. “But maybe it's good news.”

Sulu smiled a slightly humorless smile. He was a very serious man, around Kirk's age, but there seemed to be a sense that he was older than he seemed, at least experience wise. Kirk knew about some of his past, the biggest surprise having been that he was an expert fencer. Since Kirk did the scheduling he'd had to accommodate time for his matches. Kirk had watched one of his matches a few months prior and had been suitably impressed. If he ended up in the Olympics Kirk wouldn't be surprised. “A company wide meeting this early in the morning can only mean bad news. Spock, did they tell you what the meeting was about?”

Spock shook his head. “I was only asked for the email addresses of all the employees by Mr. Pike.”

Kirk stopped in his tracks. “Shit. Pike? He only gets involved if it's bad news.”

“I think I'm worried now,” Carol said quietly. Carol was the newest one in the group, and the others didn't know all that much about her, much to their endless fascination. Only Kirk knew the fact that her father was their boss; he had walked in on an argument they were having, and she had pleaded with Kirk to keep her secret. They had gotten close in the last few months because she was grateful that someone knew and didn't judge her. But as she spoke he realized that whatever it was that was going to happen, her father hadn't told her what to expect. That figured, he thought to himself; the man was a gigantic prick. He treated Carol like a slave more than a daughter. That was one of the many things he hated about the man.

“I think I am too,” Kirk said after a moment. “Guess there's nothing we can do except get to this meeting and find out just how bad the news is.” The seven of them walked in silence until they got to the offices. They were not the first ones there, but Kirk didn't recognize anyone else in the room. There were five people there, most of them looking just a bit older than him but two of whom looked like they were at various points in their forties. They were all huddled together near the far wall. None of them noticed the rest of them until Kirk cleared his throat. Five heads snapped up and looked at him. One of them looked so much like the assistant manager they could have been twins. “Hi. Who are you?”

The oldest man stepped forward. “I'm Greg Lestrade,” he said, holding out a hand. The British accent surprised him, and Kirk shifted his hold on his coffee and shook the man's hand. “We weren't expecting you so early.”

“I was scheduled to be in at seven-thirty,” Kirk said. “And this group actually shows up on time, if not early.”

“You're James Kirk?” Greg said, slightly surprised. “I thought you would be older.”

Kirk shook his head. “I'm the youngest of all the leads here.”

“And one of the only ones left,” the taller of the two other men, the one who looked like John Harrison, said with a hint of boredom. He too had a British accent and sounded exactly like the man Kirk loathed with a passion, which made the resemblance even more freaky. It was going to take a while to get used to him, Kirk realized.

“What do you mean?” Carol asked.

“We should probably wait for the rest of the employees,” one of the two women said. She was British as well, and she looked nervous.

“If this is the only reliable group that works here they should probably know now,” the other man said, trying to give all the current employees a reassuring smile. Kirk, for one, was not reassured. He was also not surprised the man was British as well.

“What are all your names?” Greg asked. Each of them introduced themselves, and Greg looked down at the list he had in his hands. “All right. All of you are on the first part of this list, so I suppose it's for a good reason.”

“What list?” McCoy asked, crossing his arms.

“The list of people who are not to be terminated at the end of the meeting,” the first man who spoke said. It was fairly obvious he was trying not to roll his eyes. Kirk got the feeling no one was going to get along with that man.

“Sherlock, stop,” Greg said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked down. Then he lifted his head back up. “Lexington Photography has been sold to Alastair Photography, effective today. I'm taking it your former management didn't tell you?”

“They didna tell us much of anything,” Scotty said. “And what do you mean by former management?”

“The entire management team has been transferred or fired,” the second woman said. “Most of them got sacked, actually. We're the replacements.” She came up to them. “I'm Sally Donovan. I'm the new assistant manager. Greg here is the one in charge.”

“I'm John Watson,” the other man said with a grin.

“Molly Hooper,” the other woman said.

Sherlock stayed quiet until Greg gave him a pointed look, and then he sighed. “If I _have_ to,” he murmured.

“It's only polite,” Greg said, and Kirk could tell Greg dealt with him acting like this a lot.

“I'm Sherlock Holmes,” he said. “Apparently the seven of you and maybe a handful of others are the only competent employees this place has.”

“I'm taking it Alastair Photography is a British company?” Kirk asked, looking at all of them and getting nods in return. “Huh.”

“I'm sorry if this comes as a shock,” Greg said. “We've known for about a month now. All of us are from another park that Alastair runs, near London. For some of my team this is a promotion.”

“More like a punishment,” Sherlock said quietly. John elbowed him sharply in the ribs and Sherlock glared at him.

“You're lucky they gave you another chance after that stunt you pulled,” John said, glaring back.

“I had every reason to believe it would work,” Sherlock replied.

John shook his head. “You would have been sacked if it wasn't for Greg and you know it.”

Sherlock was about to respond when Molly came up to them. She put her hand on Sherlock's arm and he looked at her, closing his mouth. “Let it go. Please?” she asked quietly, looking him in the eye.

Sherlock nodded slightly. “All right,” he said, looking intently at her. She gave him a small smile and he appeared to be less combative looking.

Molly turned away from him after a moment and her smile widened as she looked at Kirk and the others. “Hopefully things will go more smoothly than this initial introduction.”

“What about Jim and Spock?” Sulu asked. “Are they getting demoted or something?”

“What? No,” Greg said, surprised. “I honestly thought they knew and had told everyone already. They're the only ones from the old management who are staying. Apparently Chris decided they were the only ones who knew what the hell they were doing here, and he wanted some people all of you trusted around.”

A knot in his stomach that Kirk didn't even realize he had had unclenched a bit. At least he wasn't getting fired or demoted. “No, this is all news to us. No one thought to tell me and Spock.”

“I'm really sorry about that,” Greg said, running a hand through his hair. “This is going to make everything that much harder, I think.” Then he sighed and turned to Sally. “You stay here with everyone except James and Spock. Try and break it to the others more gently than it was broken to them. I think James, Spock and I need to have a talk in the main office.”

“Right,” she said with a nod. Then she turned to the group. “I can answer any questions you might have. I'll have to go through it all over again, but that's all right. At least this way I can get an idea of how much all of you really know.”

Lestrade nodded towards the door on the other side of the room that lead to the office where the leads worked. “Follow me, you two.” Kirk and Spock pulled away from the group and followed Greg towards the door. He opened it and then went behind the desk reserved for the manager. Immediately Kirk realized the office looked a lot bigger because everything had been cleared out, even his things. He hoped they were somewhere so he could get them because a few of the items were personal items. The two of them sat down in the chairs. “So this is all news to the lot of you,” he said slowly.

“We were not informed of any change in management, nor were we told that the company was changing hands,” Spock said.

“Your old company declared bankruptcy last year,” Greg said after a moment. “All of its holdings were sold off, and the section of the company that operated at various amusement parks was bought by my company. Our company now, I suppose. Most everyone knew it was happening, and had known for months. Your management must have been worse than we all thought if they didn't even tell all of you. How this park got to be the number three seller in the United States I'll never fathom.”

“Wait, what?” Kirk said, visibly surprised. “We're the number three seller in the _nation_?”

Lestrade frowned. “I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was _this_ bad,” he said quietly. “Yes, you outsold almost every other park under Lexington's control, and they controlled at least thirty-five parks across the nation. The only two that sold more than you were the two Legoland resorts. You beat your next closest competitor, Six Flags Magic Mountain, by quite a bit. You were held up as one of the gold standard parks for your company.”

“We had no clue,” Spock said.

Lestrade leaned back in his seat. “In a way I'm surprised, but I'm also not. The reason I'm not surprised because your turnover rate was the highest for any park in the company. If you lot didn't know you were actually doing well you'd have no reason to continue to do good work. And if management was as pisspoor as I think it was I take it there weren't a whole lot of incentives to stay.”

“Can I be blunt for a moment?” Kirk asked. Greg nodded. “Management was shit. Most of the other leads were incredibly lazy. So was our assistant manager. And I think our manager was embezzelling from the company.”

“You're right about that last bit,” Greg said with a nod. “Marcus was arrested last night for theft. Your assistant manager John Harrison was as well. He was implicit in it. Chris had started looking into it a few months back when you brought it up that the numbers at the end of the night weren't adding up, Spock.”

“I didn't know you did that,” Kirk said, looking at his friend. He wondered if he should break this to Carol in private but he doubted he would get the chance. He'd make it a point to talk to her in private as soon as he could.

“It was only logical that I report the discrepancies to someone in a position of authority to do something about it,” Spock said with a slight shrug. “Mr. Pike asked me not to say anything to anyone. I understand that our former manager was Carol's father, though I do not think she is aware of what has just happened because of their estrangement. ”

Kirk groaned. “Crap. Does she know you know?”

“I am fairly sure she does not. There was no point in spreading the story since she and her father did not seem to get along well.” He paused. “She is going to find out with everyone else, isn't she?”

“Probably,” Kirk said with a sigh. “Damn. Not exactly news you want to get in front of people who don't know he's your father.”

“Wait, so Carol Wallace is actually your former boss's daughter?” Greg asked. “Why on Earth would she work here if she hates him?”

“I think it was more he wasn't happy with her and she was trying to prove she could still be the daughter he wanted after everything, and he was too much of a jerk to see she's actually a really good asset,” Kirk said. “I'd recommended her for open lead positions twice even though she's only been here nine months and I got shot down both times. I don't know exactly what happened, but she did something he disapproved of and she's been paying for it ever since.”

“Huh,” Lestrade said. “Well, the buyout coincided with the end of the investigation so Chris decided to wipe the slate clean, to get rid of all the bad seeds. James, I understand the last round of employee reviews had been fobbed off on you, and since Chris said you were more than good enough at your job he used your reviews to decide who stayed and got a pay increase, who got probation to see if they can shape up and who got sacked effective today. You two, the five others out there and three more are the only ones who got to stay without being on probation. There's fifteen more employees on probation and everyone else is being let go. As it stands, there's a final check for everyone here from the old company since we'll be on a new payroll system starting today.”

“Is that effective immediately?” Spock asked, and Lestrade nodded. “That may pose some problems for scheduling in the immediate future.”

“We hope to have new hires soon,” Greg said. “Sally is going to take care of that. She's got a keen eye for the type of people we want to have working for this company. But yes, things will be tight until they're trained. But none of my team has a problem pitching in, whether it's picking up a camera or working a register.”

Kirk hesitated a moment before he spoke. “Sherlock might.”

“He's a bit prickly, I'll admit that much,” Greg conceded. “He's not all that happy to be here. That's part of the reason Molly is here.” Kirk realized he must have looked confused because Lestrade chuckled slightly. “He'll never admit it, but he likes her. She's probably the only person in the world who can get him to smile. So when I decided to pick the four members of my management team I was bringing with me I specifically chose those two so that they weren't separated. They work very well together. And he works well with John, too. I think that they might be best mates, though Sherlock won't admit that, either.”

“No one's going to want to work with him,” Kirk said. “Not with that attitude and the resemblance to John Harrison.”

“Yes, I know,” Lestrade said quietly. “He'll be spending most of his time here with me. Sally may be the assistant manager but Sherlock is the immediate one after her. He prefers to do the paperwork and take care of payroll as opposed to being around people, and I've found that's the best way to run things.” Greg looked at the two of them intently. “The two of you know the park and how it's run, and we need to know what you know. It's going to be hard on everyone for a while, but hopefully if you can get the others in the company to acclimate we can get everything running smoothly in a matter of weeks.”

“How can we begin to assist you?” Spock asked.

“There's a lot I'd like to know about the people who are on probation, for starters,” Greg said, looking at one of the few sheets of paper on the desk before picking it up and handing it to Kirk. “Tell me what you know about all the people on this list.” 

Kirk looked at the list and began to tell him a bit about everyone who was on the list for those on probation. Outwardly he appeared calm but inside he was wondering just how badly everything was going to go to hell, and how soon it was going to happen. Because if he'd learned one thing about this job in the two and a half years or so he'd been working there it was that no one really adapted to change all that well. By the time he was finished it was after eight, and he could already hear angry chatter on the other side of the door. “You might need to have security nearby in case some of the people getting fired are upset about it,” Kirk said.

“They should already be out there,” Greg said with a nod. “Why don't I have Carol come in here and you two can see if Sally already told them what I told you about her father?”

“If it is all right I think I should be out there with you, as a sign of solidarity,” Spock said. “Jim can come out later to reassure everyone.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Greg and Spock stood up and they left the office. A few minutes later Carol came in, and from the look on her face he realized Sally had told them. “Did it come out he was your father?” Kirk asked as she sat next to him, looking slightly shell-shocked.

She shook her head. “No. But I can tell the others know we had some sort of relationship outside of this job. I took the news as well as I could, but...”

“I'm really sorry. I suspected, but Spock was the one who caught on and brought it up to Pike.”

“I suspected as well. I knew how much he made and he was living a far too extravagant life for the amount of money he should have been making.” She sighed. “Perhaps it's a good thing we're estranged. But everyone's going to find out I'm his daughter now, won't they?”

“Probably,” Kirk said with a slow nod. “But they know you. They know you're a good person and you're not caught up in all of his mess. In a while no one's going to care.”

“I hope so,” she said with a tremulous smile. “I suppose we should get to the meeting. There were a few people there demanding answers that Sally wasn't giving them. It was getting rather heated for a moment until security came in.”

Kirk nodded. “There's a lot of hotheads here.” The two of them stood up and saw that the news had not been taken well. Many of the people getting fired looked angry, and the others had various looks of shock and disbelief on their face. The new management looked slightly overwhelmed. Kirk took a look at the situation, then put his fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. “Hey. If you got fired, get your check and leave. If you're on probation, get your check and then talk to Greg to find out what to do to get off probation. Anyone that's not on probation who's scheduled to work today get your check and go enjoy the time you've got off until your shift starts. Who has the checks?”

John held up a stack of papers. “I do.”

“Why don't I hand them out? I know who everyone is. Do they need to sign something?”

Greg nodded. “Yeah. John has that as well.”

“I'll handle it.” Kirk moved over to John. “I'll tell you who's who and you can have them sign,” he said quietly.

“Works for me,” John said with a grin.

“All of you whose employment is being terminated have twenty-four hours to return your uniforms to the park or else you're getting billed for them, and you know it's not cheap,” Kirk said to the crowd as he took the stack of checks. “All right. Form a line over here.”

The employees formed a line. Apparently Sally had told everyone what their status was, or at least those who had come to the meeting on time. There were a few who were showing up as the checks were being handed out, so Sally and Greg had to keep going over the same information over and over. Kirk could tell it was annoying Sally greatly. Finally, after a half hour the only checks left were Kirk's and Spock's, and they signed off on the sheet and looked at them. “It appears we got a bonus,” Spock said.

“That's your paid sick leave and paid holidays calculated into a monetary amount,” Sherlock said. “You start over with two weeks of each starting today to compensate for the accrued time you had with the old company.” He was looking at Kirk with something that seemed to be a mixture of curiosity and respect. “I had thought security would have to be used but you seemed to keep everyone orderly, James.”

“You guys might as well call me Jim. Everyone other than Pike does,” Kirk said. “And I guess it's because even if they're pissed they still respect me.”

“That respect will come in handy,” John said to Greg. “Most of the people who stayed who are on probation still seemed fairly upset.”

“Well, seven of them quit,” Sally said, looking at the list. “So we're going to be severely understaffed for the immediate future. Below skeleton crew understaffed most days, to be honest.”

“Put an ad out on Craigslist,” Kirk said. “That's how most of us here found out about the job in the first place. There's a lot of college students around here who can work Fridays and weekends, and that's when we're the busiest. It's a good thing this all happened in our off season. If it was the summer it would have been really bad.”

“Do you think you could help with the ad?” Sally asked.

“I did the last three,” Spock said. “I would be willing to help do it again.”

“Is there any chance you don't mind coming in early today?” Greg asked Spock. “I know you aren't supposed to be here until eleven, but we need all the help we can get.”

“I can do that,” Spock said with a nod.

“And I can stay late, plus I can talk to some of the others about staying today and coming in on their days off. We close at five right now so it won't be much later for some of them,” Kirk said. “You're going to have to pay out some overtime, though.”

“That's fine,” Greg said with a nod. “Make the arrangements you can.”

Kirk nodded, then took a sip of his now cold coffee. He made a slight face, and Sally chuckled. “Why don't you go get a fresh coffee?” she suggested. “Maybe you can show the rest of us where the employee cafe is.”

“It's a good thing they give out free coffee there,” Kirk said with a grin. “It's not that far from here. Who's coming with me?”

“Everyone except me. I can figure out where it is later,” Greg said. “I'll need to buy lunch today, at any rate. Speaking of which, the lunch and break schedules are changing. Everyone gets a fifteen minute paid break in the morning, a forty-five minute lunch by their fifth hour and a fifteen minute paid break in the afternoon if they're working more than six hours.”

“That will make many of the employees happy,” Spock said with a nod. “Previously we got a thirty minute lunch and a twenty minute break, usually fairly close together.”

“Which wasn't even company policy of the old company,” Kirk said. “It was just our boss being a jerk.”

“No wonder so many of you quit,” Molly said, her eyes wide. “Hopefully more of the changes make this place better, not worse.”

“I hope so, too,” Kirk said with a nod. “Do you guys know where everything in the park is?” Almost everyone shook their heads. “Greg, do you want me to show them around once we get some coffee?”

“That's a good idea, actually,” he replied with a nod. “How much longer until the park actually opens?”

“Nine is when the VIP guests get to come in and enjoy the park for an hour before everyone else comes in at ten. We usually have our ride retail staff at their locations setting up the cameras and computers at 8:45, and we have photographers shooting the VIP entrance and the front gate at eight thirty. I told our shooters today to come into the meeting when I began getting calls and texts from them, so we won't get many shots today,” Spock said. “Were any of those who quit scheduled to work today?”

Greg checked the list Sally had handed back to him. “Only one, and she was scheduled to be a photographer today.”

“And how many were fired?” Kirk asked.

Greg looked down at the list again. “Three other photographers and one of the two in the costume photography studio.”

“If you don't mind the shot counts being a little low today we can limp along without them,” Kirk said. “I can handle the costume photos today if we need me to and wardrobe will give me a change of clothes.”

“I can take photographs today as well,” Spock said. “I will not be needing the tour, nor do I need coffee right now.”

“That'll work,” Greg said with a nod. “Spock, go shoot the VIP entrance, And Jim, go ahead and take them on the tour. But get coffee first. I think all of you could use it after what just happened.”

“I would love a scone,” Molly said as they began to file out of the office. “They wouldn't have them here, would they?”

“Probably not. But I know the employee cafe has muffins and croissants,” Kirk said with a grin. “Every once in a while I grab something with chocolate in it. All the food at the park is made from scratch, including everything they sell at the cafe. It's kind of one of our hallmarks. And the food at the employee cafe or the food truck on the other end of the park is pretty cheap. They know it's usually a bunch of kids working part time here, so they don't charge an arm and a leg to feed us. And there's a free meal on most of the major holidays. Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, usually. Sometimes there will be a random barbecue and we'll be allowed to eat with the rest of the park staff. That doesn't usually happen, though. That's why it sucks to be a third party vendor.”

“Wait a moment. The park does things and our company isn't invited?” John asked, surprised.

“Oh yeah. They do loads of stuff that we can't participate in. The only time we're allowed to be there is if we're doing photography for the event.”

“I've never heard of a park treating members of the staff differently,” John said, shaking his head. 

“I take it the old company didn't do anything special for all of you?” Sally asked.

Kirk shrugged. “Before I got here there used to be parties. We'd have our own Christmas party since we weren't invited to the park's unless we were shooting the event, but that stopped five years ago when Marcus took over. Spock was here for the last one, and the only reason they had it was the leads at the time did it without his permission. But after that, no one bothered.” They exited the building and Kirk led them to a walkway towards another building. “I'd try and arrange things sometimes, but generally it was just me and the people who came in with me this morning who showed up. Most people who came here didn't last a month. No point in making friends if they weren't here long enough for you to actually get to know them.”

“That's unfortunate, but it's good to know,” Sally said with a nod. “I still don't think it's fair that for a park this size they can't include _all_ their employees is morale boosting events, though. That would only seed discord among everyone at the park, I would think.”

“I've heard it's the same at a few other parks around the state,” Kirk replied. “I have friends I've met in the course of my job here who tell me it's really similar everywhere. Disneyland is pretty much the only exception, but then they're the biggest park in the area and I'm pretty sure they do everything in house. No third party vendors there. One of the biggest complaints we get from guests is how Disneyland lets them take photos of their photos when we tell them they can't. Sometimes it's all we can do not to snap that we're not Disneyland and they're more than welcome to take their business there rather than steal our photos.”

“I can imagine it's bothersome,” Sherlock said.

“You have no idea.” He paused. “Well, I guess you will soon. It's really not fun, and some guests get belligerent about it. Scotty almost got punched in the face one time over it.” He looked back at them and saw disbelief on their faces. “I've had profanity shouted at me, I've been flipped off, I've been spit at. I even had one guy threaten to sue me and the company because his photo wasn't perfect, and we ended up having to have him ejected from the park because he was scaring the kids. You get loads of abuse heaped on you at this job, unfortunately.”

“It was never like that at home,” Molly said nervously.

“I think a lot of it comes from the 'the customer is always right' mentality this country has, even if the people aren't actually customers of ours,” he said with a shrug. “Anyway, is there anything else you want to know before the tour?”

“We have three offices, correct?” Sherlock asked.

“Yeah. There's the ones the management uses, the one where employees count out at the end of the night, where the staff can take their breaks when it's cold, and then the rover office where we sell the photos that aren't taken at the rides or the costumed photo booth. We used to let people get photo numbers from the rides and buy them all at once, but when we split the packages up between rides and rover photos we stopped doing it. I think sales actually picked up at the rides because of that.” He paused. “I kind of hope that doesn't change.”

“If it's making us more money I don't see Greg changing that any time soon,” Sally said.

They came to another building and Kirk opened the door, letting all of them in ahead of him. “Anyway, this is the employee cafe. They open at seven thirty for breakfast and close at three during the off season and seven during any days we're open until nine, so people can get a chance to get dinner. There's a daily special and there's always soup if you don't want fries or chips with your meal. I tend to put up the month's menu in the office as soon as it gets given to us. Coffee is over on the back wall. In the refrigerator unit there's flavored creamers and half-and-half, which are also free.”

“What about tea?” Molly asked. “I mean, is it only the bagged stuff?”

“I think so. There aren't a whole lot of tea drinkers. Most of us run on caffeine.”

Molly made a face. “I'd hoped it would be more like home.” Kirk looked at her. “We would have an electric kettle and loose leaf tea.”

“I'm pretty sure there's enough space in the counting out office for that. I'd been lobbying to get our own coffee maker and refrigerator in there to make things easier for the staff but I kept getting ignored.”

“I actually like that idea,” Sally said as she, Kirk and Sherlock moved over to the coffee. Molly and John drifted over to the order station and looked at the menu. “I mean, if the park really does treat us differently I doubt they would like us using their refrigerator.”

“They hate it, but a few of us do it anyway,” Kirk said as he grabbed a cup. “Don't get me wrong, the lower level employees around here are really nice, like the retail staff and the maintenance crew and the food and hospitality people, but management are assholes. They always try and get involved in our business. There's a few who complain about our workers on a daily basis. Sometimes it's for a good reason, but most of the time it's for petty stupid stuff, and they always want us to fire the employee even if our staff is respectful to them. It really sucks sometimes.”

“I thought Marcus would enjoy doing that,” Sherlock said as he got a cup of his own. He waited for Kirk to pour his coffee. “From what we gathered he was quite vindictive and petty.”

“Yeah, but he hated going through the process of hiring new people, even if Spock did most of the work.” Kirk moved aside to fix his coffee as Sherlock got some for himself. “It took away from him getting paid to sit on his ass and do nothing.”

“So pretty much this place really would have fallen apart if it wasn't for the two of you,” Sally said as she moved over to the refrigeration unit for creamer.

“Not to sound immodest but yeah,” Kirk said with a nod. He moved next to her for some half-and-half. “I mean, there might be a day or two where I'd slack off, but generally not often, and usually not on anything important. I may not push sales if I was breaking a ride, or I might hop on my phone when I should have been doing paperwork, but it didn't happen often.”

“Everyone does that every once in a while,” Sally said with a slight grin as she moved over to the coffee. “I mean, even I do it. I think all of us have, except him.” She pointed to Sherlock. “He takes his job very seriously.”

“I'm supposed to,” he said, glaring at her slightly. “And it keeps my mind stimulated. You know how I get when I'm bored.”

“You're insufferable when you're bored,” she said. “You become the biggest pain in the arse in the company.”

“Precisely. Which is why I'm always finding something to do.” He reached over for another packet of sugar. “I abhor laziness.”

“Well, you'd have hated everyone that got fired,” Kirk said with a slight grin, opening up the containers of half-and-half and dumping them in his coffee. “No matter what was threatened they'd do the absolute minimum that they needed for the job.”

“What threats were used?” Sally asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“Write-ups, training sessions, suspension, stuff like that,” Kirk said as John and Molly rejoined them. John began to get some coffee. “Most of the time I ended up doing all of that, and it just got to the point I cut hours for people who weren't shaping up. They'd bitch about it but if they needed the money they'd start getting their act together, at least until they figured they'd made me happy. Then they'd slack off again and it would start all over again.”

“It sounds as though it's a good thing we're rid of them,” John said with a nod.

“Yeah, but being understaffed is going to suck.” Kirk took a sip of his coffee. It wasn't as good as the cup he'd bought on his way to work, but it would suffice. Then he paused and looked at Sherlock. “Everyone who's left is going to have a hard time getting used to you.”

“Why?” he asked, frowning.

“Because you look and sound exactly like--”

“John Harrison, I know,” he said sourly as Kirk began to sip his coffee. “Considering we're related it's to be expected.”

Kirk was surprised and nearly spit out the coffee. “What?”

“He's my half-brother,” Sherlock said with a sigh. “Same father, different mothers, born within months of each other. We didn't find out about each other until we were teenagers, and by that point our father had given up on both of us. Other than our hair we look identical, since we both took after our father, and we sound exactly the same. The fact that we could pass for twins has been a pain in the arse for me ever since. He always tried to use it to his advantage.” Then he smiled slightly, but it was a grim smile. “I think I'm going to have a very interesting chat with my father over the matter. Considering he's not overly fond of either myself or John I doubt he will care very much, aside from the fact that it makes him look bad.”

“Well, your brother—”

“Half-brother,” Sherlock corrected tersely before Kirk finished. “As far as I’m concerned I only have one brother.”

“Fine. Your _half-brother_ was a tyrant,” Kirk said. “There were a few times he nearly got violent with staff when he wasn't actively goading them into quitting.”

“He always did have a temper,” Sherlock said with a shrug. “You'll find I'm more restrained.” John tried to hide a grin but Sherlock caught him and scowled. “It's true.”

“Not saying a word,” John said, leaving his coffee alone and raising his hands, though he was grinning.

“That had best be the case,” Sherlock grumbled. He moved back to the doors. “Tour now?” he called over before exiting.

Sally sighed, and then looked at John. “Good going, John,” she muttered.

“I'll go talk to him,” Molly said, shaking her head. “I promise, he won't be in a foul mood all day.”

“Thank you,” Sally said gratefully. Molly went to the doors and exited. “If it wasn't for her I swear, no one would want to work with him. I'm really glad Greg brought them both.”

“He said they get along?” Kirk asked as John began to fix his coffee.

“That's an understatement,” John said. “He and I are friendly, but those two are really close. Like, _really_ close. If he had just brought Molly Sherlock would have been completely insufferable and his second chance probably would have run out. If he'd just brought Sherlock Molly would have gotten very depressed and tried everything she could to transfer here. So really, it's in everyone's best interest if they aren't separated.” Then he grinned. “I wouldn't be surprised if they fancy each either. Neither of them will admit to it, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised.”

Kirk was quiet for a moment. “What's the policy of management dating someone who isn't management?” he asked.

“It's not allowed,” Sally said.

“Damn.” Sally quirked an eyebrow. “Spock and Nyota are dating. They started before he got promoted to management, but no one really said anything about it. It's something we all know but don't talk about much, you know? We can't really afford to lose either of them, either.”

Sally thought for a moment. “There's a few things we can do, I suppose. I mean, we'll need new leads eventually. If she proves herself she could get promoted. As it stands now, though, I don't think Greg will mind making an exception for them. How long have they been together?”

“Four years. Spock's been management for three of the five years he's been here.”

“How long have you been a lead?” John asked as he finished fixing his coffee.

“Just over two years. I've only been in the company for a little less than three years? I wasn't here for long before I got promoted. It pissed some people off, but since I actually gave a damn about everyone they accepted me pretty quickly. I'm fair, at least. And they'd rather deal with me than Marcus or John.” He shook his head. “I still can't get over the fact those two are related.”

“Sherlock's told me all about the stunts his brother pulled. The fact he was implicit in the embezzlement doesn't surprise me,” John said with a shrug. “He was always more the bad guy in all those stories. I think Sherlock would rather deal with Mycroft than John, and he’s not exactly Mycroft’s biggest fan.” Kirk must have looked confused because John grinned slightly. “Mycroft is their older brother. He's the one their father is proud of. If you want to put it bluntly Mycroft was perfect, Sherlock was the disappointment and John was the illegitimate mistake. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Mycroft and Sherlock are actually half-brothers, too. The Holmes family is the very epitome of ‘dysfunctional family.’”

“Well, it's going to take some adjustment,” Kirk replied. “Even if they're two different guys with two different temperaments there's no escaping the fact they're damn near identical. A lot of people are going to hate him just because they hated John, not to mention you guys are going to come off as interlopers.”

“Well, that's certainly going to test our mettle,” Sally said with a sigh before sipping her own coffee. “Why don't we go find out if Molly got him calmed down, shall we? The sooner we get the tour done the better, I think.”

“After you,” Kirk said, extending an arm. Sally and John walked in front of him, and he bit back a sigh. His life just got a million times more complicated, and he just hoped he could survive the day with his sanity intact. He could worry about the rest of the week, and the rest of his career, later. Right now he just had to get through the day.


	2. Chapter 2

Text messages were sent between Kirk's friends at work throughout the day when they could sneak in the time to send them, and it was by general agreement that they meet up at the local diner after Kirk and Spock got done with work. The others lingered over doing their paperwork, to the point where Lestrade just told Kirk and Spock to go so the outside office would get cleared out before seven. The seven of them gratefully escaped, and within twenty minutes they were in the largest booth at the diner. It was a tight fit, just like it always was, but soon they were settled.

“It is downright creepy how much that Sherlock character looks like John,” McCoy said. Then he paused. “The old John. Not the new John.”

“They're half-brothers,” Kirk said, dumping some sugar in the coffee he'd ordered. “But yeah. They could almost be identical twins.”

“They're really related?” Scotty said, his eyes wide. “I wonder what we've got to look forward to, if it's more than just appearances they have in common.”

“I do not know about him, but Molly is quite sweet,” Chekov said before drinking some of his soda. “She came to my booth to, how do you say...learn the ropes?” He grinned. “She has a nice laugh.”

“Are you nursing a crush?” Uhura asked with a smile on her face.

Chekov shook his head. “No. I actually have a date tomorrow with Linda. The retail worker by my ride?”

“Good for you, kid,” McCoy said with a nod. “New John came by my ride today. He's okay, I guess. He gets what it's like to be an older employee surrounded by young kids. We talked for a while in between customers.”

“Sally came by my ride,” Carol said with a grin. “She even pitched in during the rush. I appreciated it.” She turned to Uhura. “Did you enjoy having Jim at the costume booth?”

“He charmed four entire families into buying the most expensive package today,” Uhura said with a grin before turning to Kirk. “I easily made my budget and per cap today. I wouldn't mind if you help out more often.”

“Until we get new people trained I'll probably be there. I mean, that was where I trained, and I'm good there,” Kirk said, grinning back. “Though I don't miss the uniform. Everyone else at least gets polo shirts and slacks. I have the old fashioned ensemble.”

“At least yours doesn't itch,” Uhura said. “And the dress is torture in the summer. Promise me that by next summer I'll be somewhere else?”

“That's if we're all here next summer,” McCoy said. “Just because we're staying _now_ doesn't mean all of us will be here next summer. Hell, we may not be here past the holiday season.”

“I think we're all fairly secure in our jobs as long as we don't make any major mistakes,” Scotty said. “I mean, we all got pay increases. That must mean they want to keep us. Am I right, Jim? Spock?”

“I do not see any of you being let go in the foreseeable future, so long as you make your budgets and per caps,” Spock said. “You are all very good at your jobs.”

“That makes me feel a little better,” Carol said with a small smile as she sipped her tea.

“Are you okay?” Scotty asked her. “You seemed less...energetic...today than you normally are, lass.”

She looked over at Kirk, who nodded slowly. Then she took another sip of her tea and squared her shoulders back. “It's not every day you find out your father got arrested for embezellment and that he failed to inform any of us of major changes to the company.”

Everyone's jaws dropped except Kirk and Spock's. “Get out of here. Marcus is your dad?” Uhura asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” she replied with a nod. “We've been estranged for years, but I took the job to try and repair our relationship. He had no interest in that, and he treated me like utter shit the entire time I was there, but only when other employees weren't around. When they were he just ignored me.”

“What happened to cause an estrangement?” Chekov asked.

She looked over at Kirk again. He knew the whole story already, but he gave her a small grin so she could gather the strength to tell her friends the entire story. She looked down at her tea when she turned away from him. “He and my mother divorced when I was eight. It was not a pleasant divorce. I was asked to choose who I wanted to live with. My father wanted to go back to America, and my mother wanted to stay in London. All my friends were there, and my school, and I enjoyed it there. So I agreed to stay with my mother. He's never forgiven me for that.”

“Jesus Christ,” McCoy said, aghast. “You were only eight years old. And he's held it against you ever since?”

She nodded. “When my mother died when I was fifteen I had to come here to live with him. He ignored me in favor of his trophy wife and expensive lifestyle. Within a month he'd shipped me back to England, saying taking me in had been a mistake and I could find my own way in the world. My mother had left me a small inheritance, but I was only fifteen. Thankfully my mother's friends rallied around me. They took charge of the chaos and gave me as normal a life as they could. I am grateful to them. They are my true family.”

“Why come here, though?” Spock asked. “That is what I could not understand.”

“I got word that he was dying. I'm not sure if it's true or not because every time I asked he'd change the subject or shout orders at me. But I thought it might be best if I came here and tried to prove that I was worthy of being his daughter in his eyes.” She looked at her friends. “I suppose it didn't work well at all.”

“The man's a right bastard,” Scotty said, shaking his head. “I hope if he is dying he regrets the choices he's made and tries to make amends with you, Carol.”

“I am so sorry,” Uhura said. She nudged Chekov out of the way, and when she got out of the booth she went behind Carol and gave her a hug. “You deserve better than him anyway.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly, and Kirk could see her eyes were watery. She placed her hands on top of Uhura's arms and squeezed for a moment. “Even if he doesn't forgive me, I can live with it. I have other people I consider family now, the people who helped take care of me when I was young and all of you. The people I chose for my own family are vastly more important. That's why I didn't leave no matter how badly he treated me.”

“Hey, you're family to us, too,” Sulu said with a grin from her side. Uhura let go of her and Carol rested her head on his shoulder. “You all are family, really.”

“I think we all feel that way,” Chekov said with a grin as Uhura made her way back to her spot next to Spock. “I love my family, I do, but all of you are important as well.”

“We should all make it a point to stick together, then,” McCoy said. “Together we can probably survive all the changes. I mean, if it gets really bad we can reevaluate later, but for the moment if we all keep in mind we're family then we can get through it with our sanity intact.”

“Hopefully,” Kirk said with a nod. At that point the food arrived and they all began to dig in, talking about things that weren't related to work. Soon, though, the food was gone and people began to make their good-byes. Pretty soon it was just Scotty, McCoy and Kirk left, and the three of them decided it was high time to hit the bar they frequented. It was within walking distance from the diner, so they paid and then headed out. It was slightly cold as they walked, and Kirk put his hands in his pockets. “Today was a pretty interesting day,” he said.

“In a good or bad way?” Scotty asked. “I mean, you're not a seasonal employee like the rest of us. You actually have a career with the company. They can get by without us, but you're the glue.”

McCoy snorted slightly. “The glue?”

“Like you could come up with a better metaphor,” Scotty retorted.

Kirk grinned as McCoy opened up his mouth to protest and then closed it again. “Okay. I'll concede you have a point,” he grumbled.

“To answer your question, it was good, I guess,” Kirk said thoughtfully. “I mean, I was probably going to give myself a hernia worrying before. I think we're in good hands now. At least, I hope we are.” He looked at his friends. “It'll be good not to have to worry so much.”

“We still have to worry, though,” McCoy said. “Just because they need us _now_ doesn't mean they'll keep needing us. For all we know once they get new hires and they're all trained up we'll be let go.”

“Have you always been such a pessimist?” Scotty asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I find it's best to expect the worst. Then you aren't disappointed if you're right.”

Scotty shook his head. “We need to get you a good woman.”

“No. No women. They're nothing but trouble, Nyota and Carol excepted.” McCoy looked at Kirk. “Tell him it's a bad idea to set me up on a blind date.”

Kirk chuckled and looked at Scotty. “It's a really bad idea to set him up on a date. He made one woman swear off men for the rest of her life due to one date.”

“She did not swear off men. Just men like me,” McCoy said. “Also, she was way too young. I don't need a trophy wife.”

“Well, I think you could do with some feminine influence in your life,” Scotty said as they approached the bar.

“If I want feminine influence I'll talk to Carol and Nyota,” he replied, getting to the door first. He opened it for the other two men. “At least I can trust them to be rational and sane.”

“Dated your fair share of crazies?” Kirk asked as he stepped inside the building.

“Married one of them. That's still biting me in the ass,” McCoy said as Scotty went in. He followed and let the door shut behind him. Then he paused. “Guess we weren't the only ones planning on loosening up after work.” He pointed to a table and saw John sitting there.

“Do we want to say hello to one of our new bosses?” Scotty asked Kirk quietly.

“Might as well,” Kirk said with a nod. The three men went up to the bar and placed their drink orders. Once McCoy had his Corona, Scotty had his pint and Kirk had his whiskey the three of them took their drinks to the table where John was sitting. “Hey. Thought you might like some company,” he said with a grin.

John started slightly and looked up before grinning at the three men. “Oh! Yeah, hi. Sorry, I was caught up in the football game.”

“Who's playing?” Scotty asked.

“Chelsea and Manchester United,” John said with a grin. “I don't like either team, but it's a bit of home.”

“Yeah, I come here to watch a game every once in a while, too,” Scotty said with a grin. “Mind if we join you?”

“By all means,” John said, gesturing to the other three remaining chairs. The three men sat down. “Apparently there's one or two other British people at the park, and they recommended this pub. It's kind of a nice surprise here in Southern California.”

“It's a good place,” Kirk said with a grin. “By yourself tonight?”

John nodded. “It's not like I have much to go home to. It's a night of take-out and crap telly.” He took a sip of his pint. “At least here it reminds me of home.”

“How long have you been in California?” McCoy asked.

“Three days. I came a few weeks ago to find a place, and I lucked out and got a nice flat about twenty minutes away from here. Sherlock is my flatmate, actually, and Molly lives in the same building.”

“That's got to be interesting, living with him,” Kirk said with an amused grin.

“Well, I think it's only going to be temporary. But Sherlock wasn't supposed to come originally. Neither was Molly. It was supposed to be two others, but our old park offered them a pay increase and better benefits to stay in London so they took it. Sherlock and Molly just found out a week ago that they were going to be coming, so it was all really short notice.”

McCoy whistled soundlessly. “Is that part of the reason Sherlock thinks it's a punishment?”

“Partly,” John said with a nod. “Don't get me wrong, we all got pay increases as well, though not as much. But Sherlock is very fond of London. He doesn't do well with change. But Molly came, so he came.”

Scotty was quiet for a moment. “You said this was his second chance,” he said slowly. “What did he do to screw up his first one?”

John leaned back slightly. “Sherlock knew an employee was stealing from the company. He set out to catch the man in the act. The employee got violent and ended up seriously injuring Sherlock and another employee. The employee who got injured sued and Sherlock almost got fired over the whole incident.”

“What exactly did he do to catch him in the act?” McCoy asked.

“Set it up so there was something very tempting for him to steal, and then he had surveillance cameras installed in the booth. The only real reason Sherlock wasn't sacked is because Greg said he okayed it, even though he really didn't, and the security cameras showed that the employee who was stealing initiated the brawl. Greg took the brunt of the criticism for the whole mess, which is probably why he got shunted here. This is kind of a demotion for Greg.”

“Huh,” Kirk said, surprised. “He didn't just take his concerns to Greg?”

“He wanted proof first,” John said. “That bit him in the arse.” John took another sip of his pint. “Sherlock's a good man. If we're all lucky, according to Greg, one day he'll be a great one. But right now he's acting more like a sullen child than his normal self. I mean, not that his normal self is all that pleasant, but generally he's not sulking and pouting all the time.”

“He didn't come out to any of the rides today, did he?” Scotty asked.

John shook his head. “He doesn't leave the office if he can help it. He's a genius with all the boring technical stuff it takes to run the business. So he was closeted up with Greg all day today, trying to sort out all the little details. The rest of us figured it would be best if we just got our hands dirty.”

“Did you guys learn anything useful?” Kirk asked as he took a sip of his whiskey.

“American customers are real arseholes,” John said with a nod. “You were right this morning, Jim. I had some very nice customers, but I also had quite a few who treated me like utter crap.”

“They are, aren't they?” Scotty said with a grin before he took a sip of his pint. “Definitely not like it was back home.”

“I suppose we'll get used to it, though,” John said. “Not that I really want to, but if we're going to stay out here it's inevitable that it's going to happen again.” John looked at his watch. “What were all of you doing here so late, anyway? I only just got away from the office.”

“There's a diner down the street we go to a lot,” Kirk said. “We were all enjoying dinner and then everyone else had to go home. The three of us wanted to unwind with a drink.”

“Never been to a diner before,” John mused, tilting his head slightly. “I'll have to check that out sometime.”

“It's got very good hamburgers and chips,” Scotty said. “The milkshakes aren't bad, either.”

“Well, I had some shepherd's pie here tonight,” John said. “I hate to admit it, but I'm a bit homesick.”

“I've been here for a while and even I get homesick occasionally,” Scotty said with a grin. “Maybe later I'll tell you some other good places to go to.”

“Thanks, mate,” John replied with a nod. “I'd appreciate it, and I know the others would too. Sally especially. We used to spend a lot of time together away from work at the pub. She would have joined me tonight but she has a very early morning tomorrow.”

“Park's closed,” McCoy said with a frown.

“For the customers maybe. Not for management,” Kirk said. “I get to be in at eight tomorrow. Spock, too.”

“Does he have a first name?” John asked curiously. “Everything I saw for him just said Spock.”

“If he does we don't know it. Pike's the only one who does in management, and we're fairly sure Nyota knows but she won't tell us. We used to try and guess but that lost it's fun after a while,” Kirk said, taking another sip of his drink. “I don't even think he uses an initial.”

“It's got to be on paperwork somewhere,” John said.

“Nope,” Kirk said with a grin. “Trust me, I looked. The man's a mystery.”

“Huh.” John took another sip of his pint. “I thought all of you would know, since you're his friends.”

“We think he has a really embarrassing name,” Scotty said with a grin. “Something he hides from the world. If one of us filches his wallet we could probably get an answer, but none of us are stupid enough to try.”

“Could be an interesting game, trying to figure it out,” John said with a chuckle. He looked at Kirk. “One day one of us will find out.”

“I so doubt it,” Kirk said, grinning. “But maybe one day.” He looked at his friends. “I'm going to get some air for a second. Watch my drink for me?”

“Sure,” John said, taking a long sip of his drink. “Want some company?”

“It's okay. Need to make a call,” he said.

“We'll be here,” Scotty said.

“Tell your mom hello,” McCoy said.

“I will,” Kirk said with a grin as he got up and headed towards the door, pulling his phone out as he moved. He always made this call at eight every Monday night, unless he was sick or still at work. He pulled up the contact once he got outside and sent it through.

It was picked up after two rings. “I'll go get her,” a man said gruffly.

“Thanks,” he told his stepfather. The two of them had never really gotten along, but they were civil now that they were nearly half a country apart. He may have no love for his stepfather, but he did care about his mother greatly. She had given up a lot for her son, including her own happiness, he thought. His father had died the day he was born, murdered by a random stranger with a vendetta and the urge to commit suicide by cop. Kirk knew his father had been on the phone with his mother when the man had come into the police station and she'd heard the whole incident. She never really talked about it, and Kirk didn't blame her. It probably still hurt too much, even nearly thirty years later.

After a moment a woman's voice came on. “Hi, James.”

“Mom,” he said with a grin. “I have news.”

“Good or bad?” she asked.

“Not sure yet. Our company got bought out, so we have a whole new management in place.”

“And you didn't know?” she asked, surprised.

“Found out this morning when I showed up for work.” He started to pace. “I think it'll be a good thing, because our new boss seems to be the polar opposite of Marcus, but it's still really new.”

“Then I'll hold off congratulations until you're more sure.” He was fairly sure his mother was grinning. She knew well how much he hated Marcus, so even with the uncertainty she was probably happy for him. “Are you still coming home in a few weeks?”

“Probably not,” he said. “New company means they need me here as much as possible.”

“Of course. And there's always Christmas, right?”

“Maybe.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I'll come visit soon, Mom. Promise.”

“All right.” She paused. “So tell me more about your week, James.”

He grinned slightly as he launched into a conversation with his mom. They talked for about twenty minutes before they made their good-byes, and then Kirk went back inside. John had a fresh pint in front of him, and McCoy had an empty bottle of Corona next to his new one. Kirk sat back down and picked up his glass of whiskey. “How is your mom doing?” McCoy asked.

“Good,” Kirk said with a grin. “She's hoping the buyout is a good thing.” He took a sip of his drink.

“I think it will be,” John said. “Greg's a good boss, dedicated and fair. He's a good man in general, but I haven't had such a good boss in the entire time I've been working, either before or after the war.”

Kirk lowered his glass. “You were a soldier?”

John nodded. “I was in Afghanistan as a medic. When I got injured I decided to leave medicine behind and find something, anything, that didn't remind me of all of that. I lucked into the job because I knew the man who used to be in Greg's position. But I proved myself to Greg and moved my way up the ranks fairly quickly. I like it a lot more than medicine or fighting. Much less stressful.”

“I used to be a doctor, too,” McCoy said.

“Really?” John asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I was a good doctor, but I always resented doing all the work at the clinic I was attached to. When I got divorced I decided I needed a fresh start. I don't make all that much less money than I did before, surprisingly.”

“I think you and I are going to have some very interesting conversations,” John said with a grin.

“Probably,” McCoy said, and he had a faint smile on his face as well. “At least you'll understand.”

“See? A chance for a new friend,” Kirk said. “And at least there will be someone who understands.”

“That'll be a nice change of pace,” McCoy said with a nod.

Scotty sipped his pint some more. “Most of us were in one field or another before we came here. I was an engineer before I did this. It was interesting, but I ended up creating something and had the credit for it stolen so I wiped my hands of all of it. Started working for another park and then moved out here when I got a chance.”

“That's interesting,” John said with a nod. Then he turned to Kirk. “What about you?”

“I was just your average screwed up kid from Iowa,” he replied with a grin. “Came out here to California because Pike searched me out. Said he owed it to my father to help set me on the right path.”

“He knew your father?” McCoy asked, surprised. McCoy and Scotty knew the story about what happened to his father, but John didn't. One day he might tell John and the other new people, but he didn't want to get into it right now.

Kirk nodded. “Yeah. Not very well, but well enough. He thought I could do better so he offered me the job here. Said if I did well I could move into management in a year or two. I did it in six months.”

“You always have liked proving people wrong,” Scotty said with a shake of his head before taking a sip of his pint.

“That is kind of my thing, isn't it?” Kirk mused. “Anyway, I moved out here and the rest is history. Pike's been my biggest supporter ever since. If it hadn't been for him I probably would have quit ages ago.” Kirk finished his whiskey. He wasn't going to get another glass, but he had time to stay and talk, even with the early morning tomorrow. “It's kind of nice having someone who has faith in you.”

“Greg's that way with me,” John said with a nod. “He took a chance on me and I'm quite happy with the life I have now.” He leaned back in his chair slightly. “I think we all are, except Sherlock. But he'll get over it soon enough. I think he had more reasons for not wanting to come.”

“Did he know his brother was here?” McCoy asked.

John nodded. “Oh, he knew. Chris didn't realize they were related until all of us got here earlier in the week. He had the same reaction as everyone else, the complete surprise at how much they look and sound alike. But once Sherlock assured him there was no love lost between them he told us what was going on. I think he was worried Sherlock would say something to John, but Sherlock looked downright giddy that his brother was getting arrested. Like I said, no love lost between them.” He took another sip of his pint. “He'll be back to his normal self soon, I think. Or I hope, at any rate. That's part of the reason I'm here and not at home. I don't want to listen to him rant and rave tonight. I strongly suggested to Molly that she invite him over for a bit while I unwound at a pub.”

“You are a brave man living with him,” Scotty said admiringly.

“Well, we lived together in London so I'm used to it,” John said with a shrug. “I had hoped I'd have a place of my own this time around but that wasn't the case. Trust me, I'm used to his quirks. We all are. It's all of you who get to suffer through them until you get used to him.”

Kirk looked at his watch. “I can stay for about another half hour before I have to get home. Think we can talk about something other than work for a bit?”

John nodded. “Sure. I'd love to know what other things there are to do here, if you three are interested in sharing.”

“I don't mind,” McCoy said slowly. “What do you want to know?”

“Where's the best place to get food?” John asked.

“Depends on what you want,” Kirk said with a grin. John grinned back, as did Scotty, and even McCoy didn't look like his normal pessimistic self. Kirk relaxed slightly. Maybe this wouldn't go that badly, he thought to himself as he started telling John about his favorite restaurants nearby. If nothing else he had at least one ally in the new management. He could build on that.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the week went more smoothly than Kirk had hoped, even if he did get employees complaining that the new management was more strict and more nosy. It was mostly the people on probation who were complaining, and Kirk knew it was because they weren't getting away with slacking off. Unfortunately three of them couldn't handle the scrutiny so they quit, which meant the company was even more understaffed now. Everyone was working every day they could, sometimes for very long shifts. By the end of the week Kirk was exhausted.

A week after the company switched hands he let himself into his apartment and flopped down on his couch. He tilted his head back and shut his eyes, bone tired. Thankfully the park was closed the next two days and Greg had decided he didn't need management to come in. They'd stayed late talking about who to promote to the two open lead positions Greg wanted filled so that everyone could have the two days off, and he was fairly sure they'd settled on Uhura and Carol by the end of it. He was glad they got it taken care of tonight because he was going to take the opportunity to get some well deserved rest tomorrow. After a few minutes he sat up more and glanced at the clock on his mantle. It was almost nine in the evening, which meant he'd missed calling his mom. He'd do it tomorrow, he thought to himself.

He turned on the television and flipped through the stations. There was nothing on TV, he realized after a few minutes, and with a sigh he shut it off. What he needed was a hot shower and some food and some sleep, he decided. He pulled himself off his couch with some effort and made his way to his bedroom, going into the bathroom. He stripped out of his clothes and got into the shower, letting the hot water ease away the aches he had. It had been a really long time since he'd had to stand on his feet for eight hours a day, and he was just not used to doing it anymore. His feet hurt and his back ached and he was thankful he had two days off coming up.

He'd just gotten out of the shower and dried off when he heard the knock on his door. He frowned because he wasn't expecting company tonight. He got dressed in a hurry, throwing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before heading to his door. He opened it and saw Carol there, a grim look on her face and a plastic grocery bag in her hand. Everyone knew where he lived; he'd had them over for parties and stuff before. But no one usually came over uninvited. He gave her a slight frown. “Are you okay?” he asked, moving out of the way so she could come in.

“He called me,” she said as she entered his home, sighing. “My father. His wife refuses to have anything to do with him and she's filed for divorce. He wants me to pay his bail.”

Kirk whistled slightly as he shut the door behind her. “And you did tell him to go screw himself, right?”

She nodded. “I told him he shouldn't expect any favors from me, not after the way he treated me. I have the money, but he doesn't deserve it.” She paused. “John cut a deal. He's out of jail and he's going to testify against my father.”

Kirk stilled slightly. “I wonder if Sherlock knows.”

“Probably,” Carol said with a nod. “I would assume so, at any rate.” She held up the bottle she'd carried in. “I figured it would be a good idea to drink away my night, and I didn't want to do it alone.”

“Of course,” Kirk said, taking the bag from her. He moved into his kitchen and placed it on the counter before pulling the bottle inside out. It was whiskey, his favorite brand. “You got the good stuff,” he said.

“It was that or tequila, and that's too much of a hassle to drink properly.” She took off her coat and draped it over one of the chairs at his table. “If I was going to entice you to drink with me I thought it would be best to have your favorite liquor.”

He nodded. “That was probably smart.” He went to a cabinet and pulled out two glasses, setting them next to the bottle. He knew she usually took her whiskey mixed with Coke, so he opened his fridge and pulled out two cans from there. Then he paused. “Have you eaten yet?”

She shook her head. “No. I've been brooding since he called.”

“We should eat something while we're drinking. You'll just get sick if you drink on an empty stomach.” He set the cans next to the glasses and looked over at her. “Anything you want to eat really badly? Like, any comfort food I might know how to make?”

She gave him a slight smile. “Probably not. I don't think cookies and ice cream are a good idea.”

He grinned. “Probably not.” He saw her grin widen. “I was just going to have grilled chicken tacos. The nice thing about having a balcony on the top floor is I can have a grill outside. It shouldn't take long, I don't think.”

“If you're willing to share that sounds good,” she said with a nod.

“I am.” He went to the freezer and got some ice, putting it in each glass. Then he opened one of the cans of soda and fixed her a drink of about two thirds soda and a third whiskey. His own drink was more half and half. It wasn't his favorite way to drink whiskey, but on an empty stomach it would be better. “Here,” he said, handing her the glass for her.

“Thank you, Jim,” she said, taking a drink as soon as she had a good grip. He went back to his refrigerator and got out the chicken quarters he'd picked up the night before that he'd marinated all day. “I can't believe the gall of him.”

“He's an asshole,” Kirk said with a shrug. “We both knew that. I mean, no one wants to be in jail, but I guess him more than most. He's losing an awful lot for his stupid decisions.”

“He's already lost a lot,” she said quietly, looking down. “He just didn't care to see it.”

“Hey, you deserve a better father than him,” he said, stopping what he was doing. He went over to her and stood in front of her until she looked up. “A lot of us do.”

“You didn't have a good father, either,” she said.

“No,” he replied. “I mean, I told you about my actual father, right?”

She shook her head. “No, I don't think you have, just stories of life with your stepfather.”

He went back to his drink. “My father died saving a lot of lives the day I was born. He was a cop, a homicide detective. One of the youngest in the city. He was at work, on his way to get to the hospital for my birth. This guy came into the precinct with a gun, but people didn't realize it right away. My dad saw, though, and he tried to talk the guy out of shooting anyone. He'd been on the phone with my mother and he'd set the phone down while he tried to negotiate. The man shot him in the chest and then got killed by the other cops in the room. He'd wanted to die, suicide by cop. He got his wish, but he took my dad with him.”

“And your mother heard the whole thing?” Carol asked, her eyes wide.

Kirk nodded. “She was inconsolable for a while. They were madly in love, high school sweethearts. Eventually she moved on as best she could and married my stepfather. He and I hated each other from day one. We still hate each other, actually. He doesn't treat me well, but he does take good care of my mom and my sister. I can't fault him for that.”

“I never knew,” she said. “I mean, I know you told me you didn't have a good relationship with your stepfather. But I didn't realize the rest.”

“I don't talk about it much. I guess I don't talk about it with anyone, really. I think Bones and Scotty are the only ones who know the whole story.” He looked at her. “I don't know. I always felt I had this legacy to live up to. I never wanted to be a cop, because I know that would have killed my mom if I'd gotten hurt or killed, but I knew I needed to do something more than just bum around in Iowa and drink away my days. That's where Pike came in. He was a former cop who knew my dad before he started working for Lexington. My mom called him after my stepfather and I had a huge blowout. He got on a plane and came out to talk to me in person. He convinced me I could do all right here. And he was right. I'm a lot happier out here.”

“That's a fascinating story,” she said before taking another sip of her drink.

“You know what we were talking about at the diner, about the family you chose for yourself when your dad kicked you out? All of you guys here are my family. I wouldn't want it any other way, either. The family you choose for yourself is sometimes stronger than the family you're born into.”

“I find that true as well.” She was going to say more when her phone began to ring. She set down her glass to answer it. “It's Greg,” she said.

“I would take it if I was you,” he said with a grin as he went out to his balcony door. He had a gas grill so it wouldn't take that long for it to start. He set things up and waited for it to heat up. About five minutes later Carol joined him, a grin on her face. “Good news?”

“I got a lead position,” she said. “As of tomorrow I will be a member of management.”

“That's great. Good to know he listened to me.” He caught the surprised look on her face. “That's why I got home so late. We were talking about how we needed two new leads, and I kept pushing for you and Nyota. You two are the most competent, and I think everyone would respect you both in a position of authority.”

“I'm glad you feel that way,” she said. He noticed she had brought his glass out to him and he took it from her. “I know you told my father I should be promoted before.”

“Three times,” he said with a nod, putting the chicken on the grill. “He's an idiot for not listening to me. This decision just proves Greg isn't an idiot.”

“Did anyone disagree with you?”

He shook his head. “Spock said it was a good choice as well, though he said the other promotion should go to Scotty. I think the only reason he didn't say Nyota was because he didn't want it to look like favoritism. But everyone else suggested her and he finally agreed. Both decisions were pretty much unanimous.”

“That makes me happy,” she said. “It was certainly an unexpected bright spot to a long and frustrating day.”

“Yeah, we had a lot of jerkish customers today, didn't we?” he mused.

She nodded. “That is an understatement. Greg had me come in early to shoot the VIP entrance, but when Clarissa walked off the job he had me go to Little Big Horn. I hate working that ride.”

Kirk chuckled. “Everyone hates that ride. It's a shooting game ride where we don't tell you we're taking a photo, so no one ever sells there unless they're incredibly persuasive. I think the only place people hate more is Tin Type Alley, but that's because of the costume you have to wear.”

“I suppose you didn't miss that,” she said with a smile before taking a sip of her drink.

“No, I didn't. I can't wait until we get more people trained. There's eleven new employees starting as soon as they go through orientation on Wednesday. I'm going to stay at the costume photo booth for another week or two to train new people, and then it's out of that costume and back into the business casual stuff.”

“I don't know. I think you look quite dashing in that uniform,” she replied. “I suppose this means I don't need to come in uniform on Thursday.”

“Nope. You're management now,” he said with a grin. “I know Nyota will be happy as well. She really _really_ hates the dress.”

Carol chuckled. “We all do. I still have mine at home. I'm just thankful I was a photographer most of the time and didn't need to work there often. The Tombstone I didn't mind, even if it had a higher budget and per cap, only because the photos were always entertaining and sold well.”

“Yeah. We have the best ones up in the back room of that ride, where all the supplies are,” Kirk said. “I mean, it's a 100 foot drop with the camera poised at the end of the drop. The photos are priceless.” He took a sip of his drink. “Mother Lode also does fairly well for a roller coaster. I mean, between that one and Eureka there's a lot of families taking their kids there as a first roller coaster. We sell a lot of photos for that reason alone.”

“It's fun to work those rides every once in a while, too,” she said with a nod. “I suppose I'll have to work them more often now, won't I?”

“Everyone has to pitch in more until the new people are trained,” he said. “If Greg's smart he'll start off half the new people as photographers and then put the others at the rides and Tin Type Alley with one of us to train them. Hopefully they'll last longer than a month.”

“Are we hiring more new people after these eleven?” she asked.

He nodded. “At least ten more in the next week, we hope. Sally was doing group interviews with Spock's help, and it seemed to work out well. I think they're going to do the same next week. If at least two thirds of them stay we should be less understaffed.”

“I think it's rubbish the way the other three just walked off the job today,” she said, shaking her head. “I thought Sally was going to blow up at them.”

“I think they planned it before they came in today. It makes them look bad, though. But they're young and stupid. They probably thought they were doing the right thing, but it's just going to bite them in the ass later.” He checked the chicken. “We'll get through it, though. We always do.”

“You have been very good at holding the company together,” she said before drinking some more of her drink. “I think it would have been ten times worse if it wasn't for you.”

“Hey, I like being employed,” he said with a grin. He flipped the chicken over. “And I like working someplace where it's a good place to work. The only reason I stuck around when your father was in charge was because I didn't want to let Pike down. He believed in me, and I wanted to help however I could.”

She moved closer, and after a moment's hesitation she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I'm glad you believed in me,” she said softly.

He looked at her for a minute, nodding slowly. “Why wouldn't I?” he said.

“Because of my father, for a start,” she said.

“He didn't influence who you are as a person,” he replied. “I liked you from the start. I still like you a lot.”

“As a friend, right?” she asked, seeming slightly dejected.

He frowned slightly. “Yeah, as a friend.”

“I see.” She looked away. “Do you know I fancy you, Jim?”

He was surprised. “Me? You like _me_? Why?”

“Despite the fact that you seem to despise monogamy, I like your company. I like who you are as a person and I like the way you treat me. And you're quite easy on the eyes. And I think the only reason I'm actually saying it now is because we're alone and I've had a bit to drink.” She turned to face him. “If you don't feel the same way I can understand. We can pretend this conversation never happened if it's easier that way.”

He set down his drink and moved closer to her. “You do realize I haven't been out with any woman in two months, right?” he said.

She blinked. “Really? That's quite surprising.”

“Yeah, well, I kind of lost interest in the whole sleeping around thing. I was starting to think maybe relationships aren't a bad thing after all.”

“So what does this mean?” she asked as he took her drink out of her hand and set it down.

“It means if you're willing to give me a chance I'd like to see where things could go,” he said with a grin. He watched her smile back at him, and he placed a hand on either side of her waist. “I mean, I may not be the best boyfriend at first. Like you said, I really didn't like the idea of monogamy. So you'll have to be patient.”

“I can be patient,” she said with a nod, moving closer.

“And understanding?” he asked quietly.

“I can be understanding.” She moved her arms up around his neck.

He slid his arms around her more. “So you'll have to teach me what to do,” he murmured.

“You'll find I can be a very good teacher,” she said before leaning in more and pressing her lips to his. It was a very soft kiss, nearly feather light, but then he pulled her as close as he could get and he increased the pressure of the kiss. She sighed into the kiss slightly and pressed herself against him. They stayed like that for a few moments until she pulled away. “That was a very nice kiss.”

“Yeah, it was,” he said.

“You do know it's not going to lead to sex tonight, correct?” she asked, pulling away slightly.

He chuckled. “I wouldn't want to ruin things by moving that fast,” he said with a nod.

“Good.” She smiled at him, the widest smile she'd given him since she got there. “I wouldn't mind if we did it again, you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said. This time he leaned in and kissed her, and the kiss got fairly passionate quickly. After a few moments they pulled apart again, putting some distance between them. He picked up his drink as she did the same. “I suppose we're not drinking to commiserate now, are we?” she asked.

“I'd say we should drink to celebrate,” he said, lifting his glass up. “To new beginnings.”

“To new beginnings,” she said, tapping her glass against his. She smiled before she took a deep breath. Then her eyes widened. “The chicken is burning!”

“Damn,” he said, turning around. She began to laugh as he looked at it, and after a moment he joined her. He turned off the gas and put the burnt chicken back in the dish he'd carried it out in. She was laughing so hard she was doubled over, tears at the corners of her eyes. “It's not that funny,” he said, though he was grinning when he said it.

“Oh, it rather is,” she said as she composed herself. Then she looked at him. “Do you think there are any restaurants open late?”

“Why?” he asked.

“I'm thinking take-out is in order.”

“There's a twenty-four hour Mexican food restaurant down the block,” he said. “If you want we can go there and bring the food back here.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” she said with a nod, extending her hand to him. He took it and she led him back into his apartment. He let her lead him in and then stopped and pulled her back towards him. She let go of his hand and put her hands on his chest. “Yes, Jim?”

“This is going to be a date, right?” he asked.

She nodded. “I had thought so.”

“Then we should do something nicer. I mean, for a first date and all.”

“I don't know. I think dinner and drinks is more than sufficient,” she said with a smile. “You'll find I'm an easy woman to please.” She slid her arms up around his neck again. “And besides, you can always impress me later after we get paid.”

He grinned at her. “Okay. We'll have a more impressive second date.”

“I was rather hoping it would be more like the third or fourth date. I mean, it is three more days until we get paid.” She looked up at him, a twinkle in her eyes.

“I can take you out on a nice date tomorrow,” he said as he settled his hands on her waist again. “You know, if we want to get back to celebrating we really should go get the food.”

“In a moment,” she said. “Are you sure you want to attempt a relationship with me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“I just wanted to be sure.” She kissed him again, a kiss that was much too quick for his taste. “All right. Let's go get some food.”

She pulled away and he went back to his balcony, locking it. Then he watched her get her coat from the back of his chair as he got his own jacket. Finally they made their way to his door and he let them out, locking up behind him. This was a good move, he thought to himself as she reached over for his hand and grasped it tightly. This felt right, and he just hoped he didn't screw everything up.


	4. Chapter 4

Kirk couldn't help it; he was grinning like an idiot from the minute he got into work. Actually, he'd been grinning like an idiot pretty much from the moment he woke up, mostly because he'd had his second date with Carol the night before and it had gone exceedingly well. He'd actually managed to impress her, he thought, and that made him happy. He almost felt like he could take on the world. He got to the employee turnstiles just after McCoy and Uhura. “Hey, guys,” he said.

McCoy looked at him, eyebrow raised. “Someone's decidedly chipper today,” he said after a moment. “I think something might be wrong with you.”

Kirk swiped his card and pushed through the turnstiles. “Well, life's good at the moment,” he said.

Uhura grinned at him. “See, Bones, you're just a pessimist.”

“Well, _I_ didn't get a promotion two days ago,” he said sourly.

“One of the next ones will probably be yours,” Kirk said, clapping him on the back. Then he turned to Uhura. “You look absolutely lovely today.”

“I really hope you're not trying to flirt with me. My boyfriend is one of your best friends,” she said with a slight chuckle.

“Can't I just compliment a lovely woman on an impeccable outfit that she's got on? Especially since it's not a uniform?”

Uhura turned to McCoy. “Maybe you're right. Maybe something's wrong with Jim,” she said.

“See?” McCoy said. Then he turned back to Kirk. “Should we start planning an intervention now?”

Kirk shook his head. “I just had a really good night last night,” he said.

Uhura and McCoy looked at each other for a moment, then back at Kirk. “You got laid,” they chorused just as Kirk took a sip of his coffee.

He nearly choked on it. “What?”

“You're usually only this happy when you got some tail the night before,” McCoy said. “Did you slink out of her place this morning?”

“I didn't get laid last night,” he said, pushing his way past him.

“Oh my God, did you go out on a _date_?” Uhura asked incredulously. “Like, you actually did something other than go out for drinks and end up in bed together?”

He turned to face them, seeing shocked looks on their faces. “Dinner and a concert,” he said. “And it was actually our second date.”

McCoy came up and put the back of his wrist to Kirk's forehead. Kirk swatted his hand away, and he turned to Uhura. “Well, he isn't feverish. Maybe he's dying.”

“Would you two stop?” Kirk said. “Look. I stopped sleeping around about two months ago. And then I found out someone was interested in me and I decided to give the relationship thing a go. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Frankly? Yes,” McCoy said as he and Uhura nodded. “I won't believe it until I meet her. I _do_ get to meet her, _right_?”

Kirk stilled. He and Carol had agreed to keep things quiet at the moment. They didn't want anyone to think that he had recommended her for her new position because he wanted to get in her pants. He looked away. “Eventually,” he said finally.

“I think he's lying through his teeth,” Uhura said. “I think he just had sex last night and he doesn't want us to know he's still a manwhore.”

“Nice to know what you really think of me,” Kirk said.

“Well, you are,” McCoy pointed out.

“Was. Past tense. Not one anymore.” He started walking again, then he stopped and looked at them. “You know what? I'm in too good a mood right now for you two to ruin it. Believe me or don't, but I was out on a date last night and the most I got was a few kisses before I respectfully left her at her apartment door. So there.” He turned back around and began walking to the office. He was bound and determined to stay in a good mood, his friends be damned. He got to the office and saw John was there. He was about to offer a greeting when he caught the look on John's face, and he frowned. “Hey. Everything okay?” Kirk asked as he set down the bag he'd brought with him. McCoy and Uhura hadn't come in right behind him so they had probably hit the employee cafe. For the moment he and John had privacy.

“No. It's been hell at home,” John said. “Violin music until four or five in the morning, extended rants from Sherlock. He's making my life miserable right now. It's all I can do to keep from chucking him off the balcony and onto the pavement below.”

“He knows about his brother,” Kirk said with a tone of understanding.

“Heard about it straight from the bastard himself,” John said grimly. “Apparently John Harrison knows where we live. Paid his brother a visit. I swear, the police almost got called.”

Kirk's eyes widened. “What kept that from happening?” he asked.

“Sherlock stalked back into the apartment and slammed the door in his brother's face. Not a damn thing I said or did got him to calm down for the last two days. Like I said, I'm nursing homicidal fantasies right now.”

“I'm sorry,” Kirk said.

“I expect he's going to be in a fouler than usual mood today. I know I'm going to stay scarce because I'm not in the mood to get yelled at or belittled or any of that.” John sighed. “If we're all lucky he'll stay in the office and we can all just avoid him.”

“You guys, maybe,” Kirk said. “I have a whole mountain of paperwork I've been ignoring to be at Tin Type Alley. Greg said he'd like it done today. He's covering the attraction while I do it.”

“What paperwork is it?” John asked.

Kirk took a sip of his coffee. “Every week I write employee reviews for Pike. Mostly how their performance is, how close they got to their budget and per caps, things like that. I try and make them as detailed as I can because it shows I actually pay attention. This week isn't going to take long since I've been at the attraction all week, but Greg had other paperwork he wanted me to look at just because I'm more familiar with the employees and the park. Spock's busy doing new hires.”

“Good luck, mate,” John said.

“I guess I'll need it. When does he come in?”

John checked his watch. “In two hours.”

“Well, maybe I can get it all done beforehand,” he said.

John was about to answer when the phone rang. He picked it up. “Alastair Photos, John speaking.” He was quiet for a moment. “Okay. Take care of yourself.” He hung up and looked at Kirk. “Jaime just called out, and won't be coming in for the forseeable future. He broke his leg in three places and he's in traction.”

Kirk sighed. “He's supposed to be shooting today.”

“Well, Greg wants me taking photographs, but our other photographer called out. Third time since we got here.”

“Patricia?” John nodded. “She's on probation and not happy about it.”

“Well, this makes three points. She does it again in the next three weeks and she's fired, and Greg will hold to that.”

“Maybe she's gunning to get fired because she thinks she'll get unemployment,” Kirk said with a shrug. “I mean, it isn't going to work that way, but that might be what she's thinking.”

“Either way it leaves us understaffed.”

“I'll pick up a camera and shoot the front gate until the crowd dies down,” Kirk said.

“That means you'll have to be in the office with Sherlock longer,” John said with a frown.

“I could handle his brother at his worst. I can handle him,” Kirk said. “Come on. Let's get the cameras set up. The other new hires are starting today and we need to train them. Do we know if they can actually use these types of cameras?”

“I don't know, but we'll probably find out fairly quickly,” John said with a slight grin.

“Guess so.” Kirk and John got the cameras set up, and when the new employees arrived they both went over how to use the cameras, what types of pictures to take and how to get guests to stop for them. After a half hour Kirk sent three of them out to the front gate before Uhura came in and started directing the rest to the rides. Then he went out and shot for almost two hours when it looked like the new hires just weren't getting the hang of things. He only felt confident leaving them when the crowds died down, and he already knew that they were going to have unhappy customers later in the day. With a sigh he went back to the office. He saw the door open quickly to the other office and he could hear something that made him cringe. It was just like old times, he realized as the new hire in the office ran out, close to tears. “Hey,” Kirk said, moving in front of her. “Are you okay?”

“It's my first day. I'm sorry I don't know any better,” the girl said quietly.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I was supposed to come in at twelve thirty and I wasn't sure where to get my uniform from. The people doing orientation explained but I forgot. So I came here to the office and he was the only one here and he started yelling and I just--” She started to cry.

“Hey, hey, it's okay,” Kirk said. “Come on. I'll show you where to get your uniform at. Where are you supposed to be at?”

“Tin Type Alley, I think. I didn't know that either and he...” She took a deep breath. “I'm so sorry. I should just go home.”

“No, absolutely not,” he said. “We hired you for a reason. So let's get you your uniforms and after you change into them I'll take you to the photo booth and you can meet Greg. He's a much nicer boss.” She looked up and he gave her a reassuring grin. “I promise, it'll be easier.”

She gave him a grateful smile before casting a worried glance back at the office door. Kirk took her all the way to the wardrobe department and got her both of her uniforms, telling her which one to change into. Once she was done he took her all the way to the booth. Greg was there, showing someone else the ropes. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Hey, it's the least I can do to give you a better impression of management,” he said with a grin. “I need to talk to Greg for a minute, okay? But I promise, you're in good hands.” He watched her turn and walk to the other two, and when Greg looked up he waved him over. “Sherlock almost got her to quit,” he said quietly.

Greg sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I may have to send him back to Britain if this keeps up, and I'll lose Molly if that happens. I can't afford to lose both of them.”

“Is it all right if I talk to him? John was saying he couldn't get through to him, but I might.”

Greg nodded. “Whatever you think will work. Just remember to keep it down if you end up using profanity.”

Kirk grinned. “Oh, I'm going to try not to. I hate doing that at work, even if I'm back in the office. But I'll try and get him to calm down before he gets himself fired. And I'll get the paperwork done, too. Good luck training the new hires.”

“Thanks. I definitely need it,” he said.

Greg went back to the new hires and Kirk made his way back to the office. The one thing he hated more than incompetence was bullies, and he'd just got done working under two of the worst he'd ever seen. He didn't need to have another one take their place, especially since he of all people should know better. He passed the front gate and saw the rover office was open and Carol was there. “Hey,” he said, going up to the window. “Is Sherlock still in the office?”

“Unfortunately,” she said quietly. “He's being an absolute beast today. I mean, I know it's crap that his half-brother gets to walk around a free man, but to take it out on us is really not right.”

“I'm going to try and fix it,” he said.

“Best of luck.” Then she gave him a small smile. “And if you do, perhaps I can reward you by inviting you out to dinner? My treat. There's a nice Italian place by my home that has very delicious food.”

He grinned back. “It's a date.”

Her own smile widened. “If it gets particularly bad, come out here and take a deep breath. There's no point in making things uglier than they need to be.”

“Yeah,” Kirk said with a nod. “See you later, Carol.”

“See you later, Jim.”

He went to the employee entrance and made his way to the other office. He paused at the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it. “Get out,” Sherlock said without looking up from the paperwork he was doing.

“No,” Kirk said, moving in front of the desk and crossing his arms. He already knew he was going to break his no profanity rule the minute he saw Sherlock face to face. “You're being a giant jackass and it's about time you stopped before you get yourself fired.”

Sherlock looked up at him and glared. “And I suppose you're going to be the one to set me on the right road? I'm not listening to my flatmate. What makes you think I'll listen to you?”

“Because John didn't have to work with your brother for nearly three years,” Kirk replied.

“Half-brother.”

“Brother, half-brother, it really doesn't fucking matter to me,” Kirk said. “I thought you were going to try very hard to be different than John. But nope. You're exactly the same.”

“I am nothing like him,” Sherlock said coldly, standing up and planting his hands on the desk.

“No, right now you're _exactly_ like him. You almost got a brand new employee to quit before she'd even really started. You've been driving John up the wall for the last two days. You are making yourself as unlikeable as you possibly can, and when it starts costing us employees then it's your ass on the line. Because face it, you are not more important than people who actually _want_ to be here. You don't want to be here? Then fucking go home. We can stand to lose you.”

Sherlock looked at him, his jaw hanging just slightly. “I could suggest you be fired over this.”

“Go ahead. Then watch how many people walk out the door after me, and when I'm asked why I'll lay the blame directly at your feet. See how long you last here after that.” Kirk stared directly at him. “All the people who were here before you had to deal with exactly this attitude from the guy you look like. At least with him we knew he was an unrepentant asshole who probably got off on all the misery he caused here. The fact that there is at least one person in the world that you'll listen to and try to be better around makes me think you aren't a sadist. You're in a really bad mood right now, we get that, but knock it the fuck off.”

“You have no idea what's going on,” Sherlock said.

“John Harrison is a free man and he's rubbing it in your face. He's being his normal jerkoff self but since he can't humiliate and belittle all of us he's going after you. After all, what makes a sadist happier then causing pain so close to home?” Kirk mimicked his stance, planting his hands on the desk and leaning forward slightly. “You think you have it bad? Talk to Carol. And while you're at it, pay close attention to her attitude. Because she could be acting exactly like you and she isn't. It just shows who's the better person at this point.”

Sherlock stared at him for a moment before sinking back into his chair. “I didn't want to come here. Even before I knew about John and the embezzlement, I didn't want to be here. The only reason I came is because I knew if I didn't I'd be sacked within a week. There was no love lost between me and the man who was going to take Greg's place. But I knew John was here and he'd go back to making my life a living hell if he could. I'd managed to build a life for myself as long as I kept an ocean and a continent between us, and once we were in the same place he'd find a way to muck it all up. It's what he does.”

“Did Greg know all this when he told you you were coming here?” Kirk asked, standing up straight again.

“No. He knew my brother worked here, but he didn't know our history. No one did except John and Molly, and even then neither of them know the whole story, the lengths he will go to ruin anything I care about.” Sherlock ran a hand over his face. “Ever since he paid a visit to my flat he's been harassing me. He won't let up. I just want him to stop.”

“That's what restraining orders are for,” Kirk said, sitting down.

“I've had one against him before. He looks at them as though they're guidelines that he can ignore.”

Kirk was quiet. He was actually starting to feel sorry for Sherlock now. “What happened?”

Sherlock took a deep breath. “When I was in university, there was a girl I fancied. She didn't mind that I was a bit aloof and cold, and when I was with her I started to be more normal. And he ruined it. He pretended to be me and then he...” He was quiet, shutting his eyes. “He hurt her. Then he stalked her. She thought he was me so she filed charges against me. I was detained but released when my alibi held up. It wasn't until she saw him confronting me on campus after I was let go that she realized it might not have been me. She came and talked to me and I found out the whole story. She and I both filed for restraining orders against him, but he kept harassing both of us. She took drastic actions to escape him.”

“What did she do?” Kirk asked, his eyes wide.

“Perhaps drastic is too severe. She didn't off herself or anything like that, but she left university and came here to the States to finish school. We still keep in touch, because we both went through the experience together and so I understood. It took her many years of therapy to feel normal again, and I've always felt guilty about that.”

“You didn't hurt her,” Kirk pointed out.

“But John wouldn't have come after her if he wasn't trying to actively ruin my life. My father gave him a large sum of money to put as much distance between the two of us as he could, and I thought that was the end of it until I got the news I was transferring here. I knew it would start all over again, and there are more people who can be hurt by him. People who I care about greatly.”

Realization dawned on him. “Molly.”

Sherlock nodded slowly. “John, too, but yes, I'm mostly thinking of Molly. I...care for her. I suppose it goes as far as fancying her. And as long as she's close to me, as long as she's a part of my life, then she's a target. He could hurt her and there won't be anything I can do to stop it, and nothing I can do to fix the damage he'd inflict on her. He's more than a sadist. He's downright evil. He'll destroy her just because it would hurt me, and I don't want to let that happen.”

“Does she know this?” Kirk asked.

Sherlock shook his head. “No, she does not. I suppose part of me is hoping that I'll get fired or sent back to England and she'll come with me, and I can keep her safe, keep her far away from him.”

“Well, that doesn't do anybody any good,” Kirk pointed out. “A threat you're not ready for will blindside you and it'll hurt worse. A threat you're at least partially prepared for, though, is something you can plan for. And if you want to protect her so much you should probably tell her you have Satan for a brother and she needs to be on her guard. And I can help.”

“How?” Sherlock asked, looking at him in surprise.

“I do the schedules. I'll schedule the two of you for the same shifts all the time. You can suggest carpooling, and that way you can keep her safe on her way to and from work. Once she's here there's security around if he's stupid enough to try something here. And if you're especially worried you can always try camping out on her couch sometimes, acting like her personal bodyguard. But the very first thing you need to do is sit down and talk to her, tell her everything. Make sure she knows that she's in danger and see what she wants to do about it. And then listen to what she tells you and act according to her wishes. She strikes me as the type of person who would put up a fight if he tried anything.”

“She is,” he said with a faint smile. “She is a very good woman, and quite brave. Braver than she knows.”

“Then talk to her. I'll go cover her at Mother Lode and send her here. Just...stop acting like such an asshole to all of us. None of us deserve it, especially the few people here who consider you their friend. Trust me, it'll be worse if you push away anyone who could be an ally.” He turned to leave. “I'll send her down here in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Sherlock said quietly.

“For what?” Kirk asked, turning while his hand hovered over the doorknob.

“For not thinking I was like my half-brother, despite my behavior,” he said, looking at Kirk. “And for giving me this wake-up call.”

“Hey, like I said, you need all the allies you can get. You can count me among them.” He opened the door. “I'll come back and work on the paperwork whenever Molly comes back to the ride. Just make sure she knows everything, all right?”

“All right,” Sherlock replied with a nod. “You will tell me if I'm acting like him again, won't you?”

“Trust me, I'll let you know. See you later.” Kirk exited the office and made his way to the ride. He felt that now, at least, he understood Sherlock a little better. Hopefully Sherlock would keep in mind everything he had said, or else he'd just slip right back into that state and it would bite Sherlock in the ass in all the worst possible ways, and if he could keep that from happening maybe a whole bunch of people's lives wouldn't get ruined by the time John Harrison decided the game wasn't worth playing anymore. That was all he could hope for at the moment.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a month since the new management had come in and after some encouragement from Kirk, Carol and Uhura they had started to really socialize with the people Kirk was closest to. McCoy and John had especially hit it off, and John was now a regular at the pub with McCoy, Scotty and Kirk when they weren't all at the diner. It was fun listening to them talk about the worst patients they had. Molly had gotten close to Carol and Uhura, and the three of them had gone off to do a “girl's night out” a few times after work. Sally joined them when she could, but she generally had more work than everyone else and longer hours because of it.

The friendship that surprised everyone, however, was the one between Kirk and Sherlock. Well, Kirk wasn't sure if it was a friendship, not really. But of all the people in the park that didn't come from Alastiar Photography originally, Kirk was the one he got along with the best. Sometimes he had to run interference between a particularly idiotic co-worker and Sherlock, and a few of those times had been trying as hell, but generally Sherlock treated Kirk better than anyone else. Most of the time, at any rate. There were still times he acted like an asshole but when Kirk called him on it he stopped fairly quickly, and Kirk had learned most days when he came into work his half-brother had found a way to get under his skin. Kirk wasn't sure why John Harrison was fixated on his half-brother, but it seriously creeped him out. He found himself hoping John died in some nasty accident so things could finally settle down again. It would serve him right.

Today had been a good day, though. Chekov had suggested that everyone come to the diner and help him celebrate his birthday. If it had been his twenty-first they all would have hit a bar, but since he was only twenty they had to settle with the diner. All of his friends, his new girlfriend and John, Molly and Sherlock had headed there directly after work. Sally had even surprised them by joining twenty minutes after they figured out who was sitting in which booth. They had taken over most of the back section of the diner, spilled out over three booths. Kirk was sitting next to Carol, arm on the back of the booth around her shoulders. Molly and Sherlock sat in front of them, facing the door. Spock, Uhura, Chekov and his girlfriend Linda were in the booth behind them and McCoy and John were sitting in the booth to their left with Sally and Scotty sitting across from them.

“So tell us again what it's like no longer being a breaker of hearts, Jim,” McCoy called over to Kirk from his booth. Scotty chuckled and everyone else looked amused. It had come out a week prior that Kirk and Carol were dating, when she gave him a kiss after they had gotten off work but before they got in their cars. McCoy and Scotty had seen them and promptly told everyone else in ten minutes. Now it became a daily ritual where McCoy started teasing him. Kirk hoped it would stop at some point soon, because he didn't really want to beat the crap out of one of his best friends.

“Well, I don't know about him, but _I'm_ quite happy with him no longer holding that position,” Carol told him with a smile. Then she turned her head towards Kirk. “Eventually he _will_ stop, right?” she asked him quietly.

“God, I hope so,” he murmured back. Then he looked at McCoy. “It feels just fine, thanks,” he replied a bit more loudly.

“Were you really all that much of a flirt?” Sally asked from her booth, turning to look at Kirk.

“It wasn't just flirting,” McCoy said with a smirk.

“Stop. Now. Please,” Kirk said, shutting his eyes.

“Oh, so he was a bit like John,” Molly said with a chuckle. “Lots of girlfriends floating around?”

“I'd have had less girlfriends if it hadn't been for Sherlock,” John said, looking at his friend.

Sherlock turned to face him. “I am not to blame for the dissolution of all your relationships,” he said.

“No, just the ones while we were living together,” John said, shaking his head. “Something I hope will change now that we're here. I _am_ getting my flat back soon, right?”

“Eventually,” Sherlock said evasively. “And point of fact, I'm hardly there as it is right now.”

“Don't bring that up,” Molly said quietly, turning red.

“That is true, isn't it?” John mused, a slightly wicked look on his face.

“You know, there's a lot to be said for being a flirt,” Kirk said before John said something else. “I mean, it was nice to have an active social life.” Molly mouthed “thank you” at him and he grinned back. “But I hadn't really had much of a social life for a few months.”

“That's a surprise,” Uhura said, turning to look at him.

Kirk shrugged. “Stress at work, stress from home. A lot of stuff had been going on the last few months.”

“What kind of stress at home?” Molly asked curiously.

Kirk got quiet. “My mom is sick. Has been sick for the last year, actually. It got really bad a few months back.”

“That's why you took the two weeks vacation,” Spock said, his eyes slightly wider.

“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “They weren't sure if she was going to make it. But she got a good specialist and she's a lot better now. But I took a good look at my life. I didn't want to be hopping from bed to bed all the time, so I just decided to give up on women for a while and see what happened if I decided to actually try the relationship thing. Just hadn't found anyone I clicked with before Carol, I guess.”

“That's actually incredibly sweet,” Carol said with a wide smile. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I must say, I'm honored.”

He grinned at her. “Well, don't let me screw it up.”

“I won't, I promise.” The others turned to their own conversations for a moment and Carol looked at Molly. “If Jim hadn't stepped in I wouldn't have let John embarrass you.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. She glanced over at Sherlock, who nodded. “No one really knows he's more or less camped out on my sofa. John assumes we're sleeping in the same bed.”

“I told you I would keep you safe until there's no longer a threat,” Sherlock said with a slight shrug. “And besides, it's no one's business where I sleep.”

“Yes, well, I don't want everyone spreading rumors,” she said, sending him a hard look. “I mean, we literally started dating two weeks ago, and I am not that type of woman.”

Carol nodded sympathetically. “Trust me, I know exactly where you're coming from.”

“Are you two going to talk about us like we aren't even here?” Kirk asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Perhaps,” Carol said with a grin towards him. “Or we might just save it for the next girl's night we have.”

“I vote you save it for later,” Sherlock said sourly.

“Yeah, I'm with Sherlock on this one,” Kirk said with a nod. “Or else we'll start talking about the two of you.”

“And we might have interesting things to say,” Sherlock added.

“And just what would you have to say about us?” Carol said in a tone that was slightly challenging as she raised her eyebrow.

Sherlock glanced over at Molly, who also had a similar look on her face. “Nothing bad,” he said.

“Yeah,” Kirk replied. “Only good things.”

“That had best be the case,” Molly said, and Carol nodded.

“I never should have said that,” Sherlock said as he turned to look at Kirk.

“Trust me, when it comes to foot-in-mouth disease I'm contagious,” he said with a sigh. Then he looked around. “Right now would be a really good time for someone else to say something.”

“Let's change the subject, shall we?” Sherlock suggested.

“To what?” Molly asked.

“ _Anything_ ,” Kirk said. “Or at least something that will get the two of us out of the doghouse.” 

“I draw the line at reciting sonnets,” Sherlock replied.

“One day I'll get you to read me poetry,” Molly said with a smirk. “And I'll record it, too, so I have proof.”

“You can _try_ ,” Sherlock replied, but he had a faint smile on his face as he said it. “I don't know if you'll succeed.”

“Well, just remember I want that to happen if you end up doing something that angers me.”

He looked at Kirk. “Are all relationships like this?”

Kirk removed his arm from the back of the seat and put his hands up. “Don't ask me. This is my first one.”

“Ever?” Molly asked, surprised.

Kirk nodded. “I've avoided commitment my entire life.”

“I didn't know that,” Molly replied, her eyes wide. Then she turned to Sherlock. “What about you?”

“There was just the one my half-brother sabotaged, and even then it never really fully developed,” he said quietly.

“I'm so sorry I brought it up,” Molly said.

“No, it's all right. Just please remember that if I do or say something hurtful. It's all fairly new to me,” Sherlock replied with a slight shrug.

“Can you remember that too?” Kirk said, turning to Carol.

“I can do that for you,” Carol replied with a nod.

Kirk grinned and looked behind them to see if their food was on the way, and suddenly his grin dropped. He noticed that everyone facing the door had suddenly fallen silent as well, and soon the others were turning to face the aisle. He risked taking a glance back at Sherlock. Sherlock's face was hard set and his jaw was rigid. “Shit,” he murmured.

“Hello, brother mine,” John Harrison said from the aisle.

“John,” Sherlock said coldly.

“If I'd known you spent time at this little dive I'd have come here to try and catch up,” he said with a smirk, coming closer to the table. “After all, we _are_ family. We shouldn't be so distant.”

“The more distance I can put between us the better,” Sherlock said. “I find a continent and an ocean wasn't quite enough.”

“And yet here you are, in my neck of the woods,” he said. “Oh, it must pain you to have to be in the same place I am. Did you even attempt to try and stay in London?”

“I did,” he said. “But then I found out you were up to your old tricks and I thought I'd relish the chance of lording it over you.”

John's smirk disappeared for a moment. “I'm free, if you haven't noticed. Nothing to lord over me.”

“You're a crook, among other things,” Sherlock replied. “Most of which don't need to be aired in public.”

“So our dirty laundry can just stay between us, is that right?” John said, sneering at his half-brother. “Why not air it in front of the whole world? After all, it's only because of Father's influence you got off without a charge. Or don't your new friends know that story?”

“It's only because of our father's influence that you aren't rotting in a jail for what you did to Katherine, and more's the pity for that,” Sherlock said. “You shouldn't be inflicted on the world.”

“So I take it they don't know the story,” John said, his sneer turning into a slightly evil grin. “Perhaps I can tell them the true version of events.”

“That's enough,” Kirk said, getting out of the booth. “Shut up and go home, John.”

John pulled his attention away from Sherlock to Kirk. “Oh, the knight in shining armor,” he said, the sneer coming back in full force. “Always the gallant man, riding in on your white horse and sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong.”

“Look, I don't want trouble. None of us do. So just turn around and walk away,” Kirk said, moving in front of John.

“What if I want to cause trouble?” John asked, standing up straighter. “What if I find causing my brother an endless headache brings me the utmost joy in life?”

“Then you're a sadist and the world would be better if you weren't in it,” Kirk said, getting in his face and crossing his arms. “So get out of here before I decide to make that a reality.”

“You would never kill me,” John said quietly. “You don't have the guts.”

“Push me hard enough and we'll find out,” Kirk said back.

“My brother should be making that threat, not you. Unless you want me to ruin your life as well.”

“There shouldn't even need to be a threat. But you're a fucking moron if you think I'll let you hurt anyone I care about.” He stepped closer. “Go away and leave us alone.”

“Temper temper, _Jim_ ,” John said. “If you aren't careful you'll scare the children.”

“Get out of here, John. Don't make me tell you again.”

John was about to respond when he glanced over Kirk's shoulder. Then he grinned what was probably the most evil grin that Kirk had ever seen cross his face, and he'd seen a lot of them cross John's face over the years. “So. I see she's your newest trollop,” he said. “Wonder if I should play the same game I played with the last one? See if she can spot the differences between us before I do something much more unpleasant.”

“You go near her and I'll kill you myself,” Sherlock said, standing up.

“You wouldn't do that,” John said. “I think I'd quite like to play that game with her. Let's see which one she takes to bed first. Or rather, whether I can force her to bed me first. Either way, it's still a fun game to play and it would make your life hell.”

Kirk uncrossed his arms and shoved John in the shoulder. “Out. Now.”

John hauled off and punched Kirk the minute Kirk lifted his hand off his shoulder. He could hear the others gasp and someone had hit the table when they stood up because they did it so quickly. The punch had hit him right below the eye, and Kirk knew he was going to have a shiner in the morning. “Lay a hand on me again, Jim, and I'll do much worse,” John spat out. Then he looked over at Sherlock. “This isn't the end of things, brother dear.” With that, he turned around and stalked out.

Kirk watched him walk away before he turned around. Carol had her hands over her mouth and Molly looked downright terrified. “It was just a punch,” he said.

“You're bleeding,” Carol said, getting out of the booth and moving over to him.

“I've been hit harder,” he said, but he let Carol guide him back to the booth. Sherlock was being talked to quietly by John and Sally, but it was obvious he was enraged. McCoy came over once he was in the booth, looking at him. “Bones, I'm _fine_ ,” he said, pushing his friend's hand away.

“The man's a sadist,” McCoy murmured, bringing his hand back up and looking at Kirk's face. “You might need stitches for that cut. Whatever he had on his hand cut your skin deep.”

“I'll deal with it later,” Kirk said, looking at Sherlock. “Let it go, Sherlock.”

“Not this time,” he said, pushing past his friends. He stalked down the aisle and in a flash everyone else was following him. Sherlock got out of the building first, and by the time the others joined him outside they could all see his half-brother getting into his car and peeling out of the parking lot. Molly got next to Sherlock and put her hand over his balled fist. She leaned in and talked to him softly, and soon his stance became less stiff. He uncurled his fist and she held onto his hand tightly. Finally he turned to the others, looking at Chekov. “I'm sorry this happened tonight of all nights.”

“It's all right,” Chekov said. “I think it could have been worse, yes?”

“Probably,” Sherlock said with a nod.

“Then I'm glad it wasn't.”

“We should get back inside,” Spock said. “There is nothing else we can do now, and it would be discourteous to not eat and pay for the food we have ordered.”

The others nodded and murmured their agreement, and they all filed back inside. Kirk lingered until Sherlock and Molly got to him. Molly let go of Sherlock's hand and moved over to Kirk, kissing the opposite cheek from where he got hit. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Hey, you're a friend,” he said, giving her a grin. “It's the least I can do to protect your honor.” She gave him a grin and then went back inside. Sherlock stepped beside him, not following her in quite yet. “He was serious back there, wasn't he?” Kirk asked quietly, glancing at him.

Sherlock nodded. “I do not think Molly will escape being a target now, and I won't allow a repeat of previous events. I won't allow him to hurt her.”

“Whatever help you need from me, you've got it.”

“I may need quite a bit before this is over,” Sherlock said quietly before going back into the building. Kirk couldn't do anything else except follow. He'd always known John was bad news, but he'd never considered him dangerous. Now he was having to rethink his entire view on the man. John had a vendetta against his half-brother, and Kirk worried everyone he cared about was going to get caught in the crossfire, and that was the last thing he wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

Kirk was not lucky in that things got any easier; instead, they got more complicated. In the three weeks since the incident at the diner John had started to harass him as well, just not to the level he was harassing Sherlock. When Sherlock couldn't be around Molly Kirk was, and a lot of the time Carol accompanied him because she was very good at keeping Molly distracted about the fact she really wasn't safe. Molly was understandably freaked out by what had been said at the diner, and while she didn't want to cower in fear she also wanted to stay as safe as possible, and that meant a lot of time at work or at her or Kirk's home. At those places she had felt she could relax.

Unfortunately John had wormed his way into the park one afternoon and he had said some unsettling things to both Molly and Carol before security escorted him out and told him he would never be allowed back in. Both women had been spooked by it, but while Molly had been able to soldier through it affected Carol more noticeably. Over the last two days she had started to close herself off from her friends and her boyfriend, and it worried Kirk a lot more than he wanted it to. 

“Is something wrong with Carol, Jim?” Chekov asked Kirk the morning of the third day after the unexpected visit at work from John. He had thought it wasn't as noticeable as it was, but apparently he was mistaken.

Kirk tried to give him a reassuring grin but he didn't think he succeeded. To be honest, he didn't think he could reassure Carol that everything would be okay, much less their friends. “I think there is, but I'm not sure. When she's ready to talk about it she will. Give her time, okay?”

“All right. But please let her know that I am her friend and I am here. We all are.”

Kirk put a hand on his shoulder for a second and squeezed. “I know you are, kid. I'll tell her.” Chekov gave him a smile and Kirk lifted up his hand. “Head up to your ride. And just remember: if Linda's there work comes first.” He got a bigger grin and a slight blush from Chekov in response before the young man turned and left, giving Kirk a slight wave.

He went back to the tasks he was assigned and then went looking for Carol. She was supposed to be working in the rover office when it opened at noon, but she wasn't there yet and it was already eleven thirty and she still needed to set up for the day. Normally she was punctual, most days even early. And that was the case even when it seemed as though her world might be falling apart. He made his way back to the office and saw her sitting in the chair outside the office door, staring into her hands. He knelt down in front of her and then after a moment put his hands on hers. She smiled slightly and looked at him, but he saw the smile didn't quite reach her eyes like it usually did. “Hey. Penny for your thoughts?”

“I have so many thoughts I should charge at least a pound,” she said wryly. Then she sighed. “I suppose I thought I could come to work today and pretend that everything's okay and do my job but the more I'm here the more I want to hide. I should have called in sick.”

“Do you want to talk?” he asked, moving his hands so he was grasping hers.

“I do,” she said with a nod. “But not here. Not everyone needs to hear my thoughts on my father and John.”

“Is he harassing you too?” Kirk asked quietly. He tried his best not to let his emotions show on his face because she didn't need to see it. If he was harassing her he needed to stay calm.

“I saw him standing outside my apartment building last night, just staring up at my apartment,” she said quietly. “It made me uneasy. I kept the lights on in case he thought I would turn them off when I went to bed, on the off chance he might try to do something, to follow through on one of his threats from a few days ago. He's a nasty and vile man and he's got a vendetta against you and Sherlock, and Molly and I are getting caught up in the crossfire. With his harassment and the situation with my father...” She sighed. “It's all complicated and today it's overwhelming.”

He shifted his hold on her hands to run his thumb over her knuckles. “If you got the rest of the day off, do you think you could talk it out with me? I want to help, but I can only help if I know what's going on.”

She was quiet and she appeared to be thinking, and then she nodded. “Yes. I need to get this out before it eats me alive.”

“Then let me see what I can do.” He hesitated a moment, then brought one of her hands up and kissed her knuckles. The smile she gave him seemed warmer, more certain. “I'll be back soon.” He stood up and made his way into the office. Greg was there, as was Sherlock. “Can we talk?” he asked the two of them.

Greg nodded. “Of course. I take it that the conversation is going to revolve around former employees and how they're affecting current employees?”

Kirk nodded. “Pretty much, yeah. John Harrison is starting to bother Carol. He waited outside her apartment last night and it gave her the creeps.”

Greg groaned slightly. “The man is more trouble than I've ever dealt with before and I've never actually met him.”

“You're not missing much,” Sherlock said without looking up from his paperwork. “He's evil incarnate. The world would be better if someone would just off him. And preferably in the most painful way possible. Someone torturing him for a bit would make me immeasurably happy.”

Greg's eyes were wide when he turned to Sherlock. “You're related to him, and you want him to be tortured and die a painful death?”

“More or less,” Sherlock said, looking up. “He pretended to be me and raped a young woman I fancied. He terrorized her, still pretending to be me, and then she pressed charges and I was arrested by the police. They found my alibi was solid, however, and it was only when she saw a confrontation between us on campus that she realized it really hadn't been me. My half-brother is evil on a level that is very frightening, and he will not hesitate to ruin lives because it amuses him. I'm honestly surprised he lasted as long as he did here with the embezzlement being the only criminal offense he had.” He paused. “Well, he was probably doing other things but he got much better at not being caught. Or I'd assume so, at any rate.”

“My God,” Greg said, his eyes wide. “I had no clue. Is that why you're so concerned about Molly? Because you think he might do her serious harm?”

Sherlock nodded. “And if he is harassing Carol I assume Jim will be taking much the same precautions with her.” Then he turned to Kirk. “Am I correct?”

“Well, first I want to find out everything that's going on. I don't think it's just John. I think there's a lot going on with her father, too. But if you'll send us home early I can find out, see if there's anything I can do to take precautions or fix things.”

Greg thought about it for a moment and then turned to Sherlock, then Kirk. “Are any of the new hires confident enough to help in the rover booth?”

“Jacobson, possibly,” Sherlock suggested, and Kirk nodded. “His photos are beyond atrocious, but when we had him at Mother Lode he sold quite a bit of merchandise. I think it would be best to pull him out of shooting completely and have him work rover and the rides. We'll have less dissatisfied customers that way.”

“Where's Nyota?” Kirk asked.

“Training two people at Tin Type Alley. They might be ready to be on their own, though. They seemed to have the hang of things last time I checked,” Greg said. “Why?”

“Have her come to rover so we can use her card since she's working an open to close shift, and then bring Jacobson in to help her. I think Ramirez was supposed to be on the register so she won't need to declare, she can just grab a money bag and open rover. I know she'd be glad to get the hell out of the uniform and back into her regular clothes, and that would make her more amenable to staying late and closing rover. And since Jacobson seems to be good at sales this is a good opportunity to train him on the register more.”

“That sounds like a solid plan. I'll go make that happen,” Greg said, standing up. “Go make sure Carol's okay.”

“Thanks,” Kirk said with a grin. He grabbed his bag and went back to the door, looking over and seeing Carol had gone back to staring at her hands. “Hey,” he said gently and she looked up. “Let's go somewhere to talk, just the two of us.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.” She stood up and Kirk moved out of the doorway so Greg could come out. She glanced at him and saw he was giving her a warm smile. “I'm sorry I'm causing trouble.”

“Eh, it's all right,” he said. “Once those two men are out of our hair the better off we'll all be. Go talk to Jim and get this out of your system. Hopefully tomorrow you can come back with a lot less worry on your mind.” He looked at Kirk. “Keep her safe, just in case.”

“I will,” Kirk said with a nod.

“Thank you, Greg,” she said with a slight smile before she turned to Kirk. “Let me get my things, all right?”

He nodded. “All right.” She went into the office and a few minutes later came out with her coat over her arm and her purse in her hand. “Ready?”

“Yes,” she said. “Let's get going.”

They began to walk back to the turnstiles, and when they got through and let security check their bags they made their way to their cars. “So, since we came in separate cars, how do we want to do this?” he asked.

“I wanted to drive to one of the beaches, but I think we'd get lost if we went separately. Maybe we can share a car and come back for the other one later.”

“Or you can just give me a ride to work tomorrow,” he said with a grin.

“Are you expecting to stay at my home overnight?” she asked, stopping. She had an eyebrow raised.

“Maybe, maybe not. You can always drive me home and then pick me up early, you know. And if I do stay I was planning on staying on the couch.”

She looked sheepish. “I suppose I hadn't thought of either of those options. All right. We'll take my car and head to my favorite beach and take a walk. I think better when I'm there.”

He nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let me just grab my jacket from my car first.” They made their way to his car and he unlocked it and grabbed his leather jacket from the passenger side seat, then locked it back up. After that they made their way to her car, and she unlocked it and let them in. “This is a pretty nice car.”

“I don't know. I think your car is very nice as well. It would be interesting to go for a long drive in a classic muscle car.”

“It can be,” he said with a grin. “But I like a lot of the things in here, too. I bet you have a better heating and air conditioner system, for one. My car gets really cold in the winter, even living here in California.”

“How did you get it?” she asked as she started her car and backed out of the spot where she'd parked.

“I actually came here from Iowa on my motorcycle. I'd fixed it up myself, restored it from a piece of junk to a really nice ride. But traveling all the way here made me realize it wasn't all that practical. One of the guys who worked here had the occasional gig as a mechanic, and we hit it off. His uncle owns a shop here and his uncle said he had the car I ended up with just sitting there waiting to be worked on. Angelo, my friend's uncle, is a biker and he worked out a deal for us: he'd get my motorcycle and I'd get the car and access to the mechanic shop to restore it. It was driveable when I started, but I did all the work on it over the course of a year.” He grinned. “I got a better deal than he did, I think.”

“I didn't know you could do that,” she said, glancing at him with her eyes slightly wide. She turned back after a moment to watch the road and navigate her way out of the parking lot. “I suppose I'm still learning quite a few things about you.”

“Well, I still have privileges at that shop. Over the last six months I helped restore another motorcycle with Angelo and Raphael, my friend. It was actually really nice. I might see about getting another motorcycle one day, if I ever get more than one parking space somewhere.”

“What kind of car do you have?”

“A 1967 Chevy Impala. Same car that's on the show Supernatural,” he said with a grin. “I used to watch it before they brought in the angels. I decided after the first episode I wanted a car like that if I was ever going to get a car.”

“I thought it looked familiar,” she said with a smile. “I used to watch that show as well.”

“Well, that just shows you have good taste,” he said with a chuckle.

“I'm dating you. I thought it would be obvious.” She got out of the parking lot. “You are a very good boyfriend, you know. For having no experience in that area you're doing quite well.”

“Good to know I didn't screw anything up yet,” he said. He looked towards the road. “There's still the chance I'll let you down, though.”

“Well, I promised I would be patient and understanding. I intend to keep that promise.”

“That makes me feel better.” He lapsed into silence at that point and she did the same, and he looked out the window. He was incredibly worried about everything, and he didn't really quite know what to do about anything. He felt helpless, and he hated that feeling more than anything else in the world. He wanted to protect the people he cared about the most, and right now there wasn't much he could do to keep anyone safe. Being filled with the uncertainty and fear was doing dangerous things to his mental health, he realized. It was starting to wear on him, but probably not half as much as things were wearing on Carol. He'd help her however he could and worry about his own state of being later.

When they got to the beach Carol parked in one of the spots near the lifeguard station on the far end of the parking lot. He didn't come to this beach often, but he knew there was a long stretch here before it hit the tidal pools. They got out and Carol locked the doors. He waited for her to speak and after a few minutes she reached over for his hand, lacing her fingers through his. “My father really is dying,” she said quietly. “It's why he was so desperate to get out of jail. I refused to bail him out, but he finally managed to convince one of his other friends to pay his bail and he's out now. He paid me a visit to my home a few hours before my other unwanted visitor. He tried to make me feel guilty for refusing to help him. I was nearly in tears by the time he was done. We've had arguments before, but he seemed so vindictive and cruel yesterday.”

“I'm sorry,” Kirk said quietly.

“I don't understand why he treats me like that. I mean, I know it must have felt like a slap in the face when I chose to stay with my mother, but I was only eight years old and that was the only life I had known. I had hoped he would realize that over the years. And when I lost my mother and he kicked me out after only a month it hurt even more. I had hoped by being here I could get him to see we should put the past behind us and start over. Now I know how he really feels about the entire situation and how little I matter to him. If it had just been that I would be fine, but then with John showing up outside my apartment...” She sighed. “My life is infinitely more complicated than I need it to be, and I'm not sure I know how to cope.”

“Well, Chekov told me to remind you you have friends, and he was one of them,” he said. She rewarded him with a smile, and he gave her one in return. “You can always lean on us, old friends and new ones. None of us want to be closed out if we think we can help by offering an ear or words of encouragement. We don't want to see you hurting. Especially me.”

“I know. Normally I'm not like this, but I'm so overwhelmed.”

“I don't know what I can do to help with your father, but if you want I can do the same thing Sherlock is doing with Molly if you think John's going to keep bothering you.”

“You mean camp out on my sofa and be my own personal knight in shining armor?” she asked.

“More or less. But my armor's probably less shining and more tarnished at this point,” he said, giving her a small grin.

She grinned at him briefly before she sobered. “I hate feeling like I have to be careful, like I'm going to be attacked the moment I leave my home. He needs to be stopped, and from the sounds of it he won't until he either tires of the game or he's forced to, and I don't think any of us really know what would force him to.”

“Sherlock said it was a large sum of money from his father last time,” Kirk said. “I don't think he'd do it again, especially since they're all so far away from him. It's only a scandal if it happens there, I guess.”

“That's incredibly stupid of their father,” Carol said, shaking her head. “He should have done the right thing and made sure John went to prison over the attack, scandal or not.”

“Well, he didn't and we're all paying for it now,” he replied with a slight shrug. “I just wish I knew what I could do to take care of you and everyone else.”

“If you want to play knight protector I won't say no,” she said quietly. “To be honest, I'd feel safer if I wasn't alone at night.”

“Then I guess I'll be calling your couch my bed for a while,” he said. “About the only thing I ask is I get a place to stash some clothes. We aren't lucky enough to live in the same complex.”

She smiled slightly. “Yes, it is rather inconvenient we live on opposite sides of town. I can give you some space in my closet. But don't look at this as a permanent situation. When he's taken care of I get my home back.”

“Absolutely,” Kirk replied, nodding fervently. “This is just a temporary situation until it gets taken care of. I mean, we aren't that serious. I know that and you know that.”

“We could get that serious, though,” she said slowly. “At some point. Does that bother you?”

“No, not at all,” he replied. “I just know that if it happens it's going to be in the future. Months down the line. Maybe even years.”

“I won't make you wait _that_ long if we get serious,” she said, moving slightly so she was closer to him. “I'll see what I can do about getting a place for you to park your car while we're staying together. It's not right that you give up your bed and your car at the same time.”

“Hey, I don't mind carpooling,” he said. “If you think it'll be too hard I can just keep my car at my place.”

“If he's harassing you and you leave it unattended he might vandalize it,” she pointed out. “We have security patrolling our parking area every hour, and it's indoors. I'll see if management can arrange something considering the circumstances.”

“All right,” he said with a nod. He tightened his grip on her hand. “Do you want to talk about something else for a while?”

“I would love to. Anything to get my mind off my current troubles.” She glanced over at him. “I know a lot about your past, but I don't know much about what you want for the future. Not just with me, but in general.”

“I want to be in charge of something someday,” he said. “Maybe running things at the park, or maybe someplace else. But I think I could be a good boss. I've certainly learned really well what not to do. And one day I might want to get married, maybe have kids. Be a better father than my stepfather was to me. I guess I just want to be fulfilled in life. I want to wake up in the morning and not look at my day as a chore.”

“Those all sounds like good things to want,” she said with a smile.

“What do you want?”

She was quiet. “I want to go into the science field. I gave up my educational goals to come here and try and reconcile with my father, but I want to go back to school and work on my Master's and my doctorate. And then I want to work somewhere where I'm given the opportunity to try and make great discoveries, to save lives.”

“How much schooling do you need to do?” he asked.

“I have a dual major bachelor's degree in biochemisty and physics from a university in Britain. All I need to do now is find out who will accept me in a program here to continue my education. It would mean a lot of work and less time for a social life, but it's what I would love to do.”

“Would you keep working?”

She nodded. “I have some money, but it wouldn't hurt to not have to depend on my savings. I'll probably run myself ragged by the time I get my doctorate, but I could balance at least a part time job and full time school.”

“You know, if we spent less time together because of your schooling I'd be understanding. It's important to you. You should definitely look into doing that.”

“I already have,” she said with a smile. “Before all of this happened I was considering going to a local university with a stellar science program. At the moment I'm not sure if I should, though, with everything going on.”

“You should. Don't hide away from what you want because of a sadistic asshole who thinks this is a big game. If you want to go back to school and he's still stirring up trouble I'll find a way to make sure you're safe. I'll make sure you don't end up missing out on what you want out of life.”

“You really would do that, wouldn't you?” she said, tilting her head slightly.

“I would. You have my word.”

She stopped walking and moved in front of him, letting go of his hand and putting her arms around his neck. He placed a hand on each side of her waist. “I think, James Tiberius Kirk, that you are a very good man. A very caring man. And one day you will get everything you want. I just hope I'm around to see it, if that's not too forward of me.”

“I hope you're around too,” he said quietly.

She moved closer to him. “Then I'll try my best to make sure that happens.” She leaned in and kissed him at that point, and for a moment he forgot about all the drama going on and just lost himself in the kiss. He had never really enjoyed kissing with the one night stands he'd had, but kissing Carol was different. It felt right, like it should have felt all those other times but didn't. He enjoyed it a lot more than he thought he would. When they finally pulled apart she lowered her arms and took his hand in his. “I think I just want to lie down for a while. You're more than welcome to join me for now. And depending on how it goes, we'll see if you end up on the sofa tonight. But just so you know, if you try anything you'll be on that sofa so fast your head will spin.”

“Am I at least allowed to kiss you goodnight?”

She appeared to think about it for a moment. “Perhaps. But before bed. I don't know if I'm ready for things to move beyond sharing the same space on a bed. But when I am, I'll make sure you know.”

“I can live with that,” he said with a nod. “So do we want to go now?”

She nodded. “Yes. I'm quite exhausted from not sleeping well last night.”

“Then let's go.” They turned around and walked back to the car, and once they got in Carol drove them to her apartment. She parked in her spot and they got out. He hadn't spent any time in her apartment yet; any time they'd spent together in someone's home had either been at his home or Molly's. He was interested in seeing just where she lived and what home looked like for her. They got in the elevator and made their way to the fourth floor. She moved towards the side of the building that faced the street below. She dug out her keys and opened her door, letting them in. He stepped inside and looked around. It was a very nice apartment, warm and cozy and definitely her. “This place definitely fits you,” he said as he stepped inside and she shut the door behind him.

“I sold my flat in London when I moved here,” she said. “I had to downsize, but I kept the most important things. The rest went to good friends who would appreciate them.” She motioned for him to come over to a bookshelf, and when he got close she picked up a framed photograph. “This is my mother. Her name was Barbara.”

“You look a lot like her,” he said with a grin.

“I was told that all the time by her friends growing up. I always took that as the highest compliment.” She ran a finger over her mother's smile for a moment. “She got cancer when I was thirteen. It spread fast and she spent the last year in pain. I considered becoming an oncologist when I was younger for that reason, but then I decided I couldn't stand to watch my patients die without it affecting me greatly. So I decided I would try and research cures for cancer and do it in memory of my mother.”

“I think she'd be very proud of the woman you are now,” he said as she set the picture back.

“I like to believe she would,” she said with a nod. She turned to face him. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

He thought for a moment. “Do you have any apples?”

“Surprisingly I do,” she said. “Normally I buy them but neglect to use them up in time. I have Gala apples to make an apple tart with right now. I can spare one for you.” She moved into her kitchen and went to a fruit bowl, picking up an apple. He made his way there and she handed it to him before going to her refrigerator and pulling out a pitcher of water. She went to one of her cabinets and pulled down a glass as he bit into the apple. “I find I didn't have much of an appetite this morning, and I still don't.”

“Maybe if you get hungry later I can cook for you, depending on what you have here,” he said. “I do actually know my way around a kitchen.”

“As I have noticed on some of our dates,” she said with a smile as she poured herself a glass of water. She put the pitcher back into her refrigerator and then took a sip. “I'm honestly surprised some woman didn't pursue you earlier until you caved and gave up your womanizing ways.”

“I had one or two who tried,” he said with a slight grin. “One who might have veered into stalker territory a bit. But it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.”

“Unlike what's going on now,” she said, her smile faltering a bit.

“Yeah,” he said. “This is all out of my league. I'm just trying to keep everyone safe and it's like no matter what I do none of us are going to feel safe until he's locked up, gone or dead, and I can't make that happen.”

“I hope the problem gets resolved soon, for all of our sanity.” She took another sip of water as he continued to eat the apple. “I feel a bit better now, having gotten it out. I think as long as there isn't a repeat of last night's actions I should be okay for work tomorrow. At least I hope so. I think I'll be able to cope better.”

“I think you will,” he said. He ate more of his apple until he was finished, and she pointed to the cabinet under her sink. He opened it up and threw the apple core into the trash can there. She set her now empty glass in the sink. “Ready to get some rest now?”

She nodded. “My bedroom is this way.” She moved out of the kitchen and down a small hallway. It appeared that she only had a one-bedroom apartment, as he saw the other door on the hallway was partially open and it looked as though it was a bathroom. She opened the door and he followed her in. It was a larger bedroom than his own, and it was just as suited to her as the rest of her apartment was. She slipped her boots off as he took his own shoes off, and she made her way to the bed. He went to the other and they got on the bed and laid down before she moved closer to him. After a moment he put an arm around her waist. “You'll be here when I wake up, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I'll be here,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” she replied.

He was quiet, and after ten minutes he could hear her breathing slow down and he knew she was asleep. He was trying to sleep himself, but he had the feeling he would be up for quite a long time. He had to hope things got easier, but right now that hope was wearing thin, and he hated that feeling immensely.


	7. Chapter 7

Kirk didn't have to camp out on Carol's sofa the first evening because she took pity on him and let him share her bed. He never made a move to do anything more than sleep next to her, but he knew she appreciated having him close to her. When they woke up the next morning the smile on her face seemed relaxed and reached her eyes. He made plans to stay until there was no longer a problem with John, and that seemed to fortify her quite a bit. It made him feel better as well, he realized, doing something to keep her safe. This went on for four more days with only one sighting of John stalking her apartment, but this time he came on the property and Carol could have security eject him from the premises.

As the morning of the fifth day Kirk woke up close to her. He had woken up before she did, just like he had most mornings, and he took a moment to study her. She looked a lot more peaceful when she was asleep, he realized. He'd almost go as far as to say she looked angelic. His arm was around her waist and they were quite close. He moved his arm and gently tucked some hair that had fallen on her cheek back behind her ear. She moved slightly but didn't wake up, and he grinned. She was one of the deepest sleepers he'd ever met. He took that as a sign she wasn't ready to wake up so he moved away from her and got out of bed, grabbing his cell phone off the nightstand and unplugging it from the charger. As he yawned he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to make coffee even if it was a day where they didn't have to be at work since the park was closed.

He padded out to the kitchen and began to make the coffee. She had shown him where everything was because generally he had an earlier day than she did, and since he had been able to bring his car over she didn't need to wake up early to drive him in her car. He started to make the coffee and then looked in the fridge for food to eat. He didn't want to make a lot of noise because he didn't want to wake her up but he was starving. Finally he pulled out the milk and then the cereal she had and grabbed a bowl. He set up a bowl of cereal and took it to the table and began to eat, nearly inhaling the entire bowl. The coffee was ready a few minutes later and when he got us to make a cup he heard noise from the bedroom area. He pulled down a second mug as Carol emerged shortly afterward, yawning. “I hadn't wanted to wake you up,” Kirk said as he poured some coffee into one of the mugs.

“It's all right,” she said with a small smile, taking the cup he offered her. She went to her refrigerator to get the flavored creamer she had for her coffee as well as the half and half Kirk had bought for himself. She set them both on the counter and set about making her coffee. “I've gotten rather used to you sleeping next to me. I can tell when you've gotten out of bed.”

“So I still woke you up,” he said with a grin.

“I suppose. But you tried not to,” she said. Then she looked at him, a rather intent look on her face. “When this is all over, if you'd consider it, I wouldn't be averse to having you spend time here overnight. I don't know if anything might happen, but we could share a bed sometimes. But only if you want to.”

“I would,” he said with a nod. “And maybe you can stay at my place sometimes.”

“I would like that very much,” she said, her grin widening.

“So what plans do you want to have for the day?” he asked as he moved over to get the half and half. “I'm up for doing anything you want to do.”

“One thing I have to do is laundry,” she replied. “I generally do that early in the day to avoid everyone else using the laundry room. And then I was thinking it might be nice to go out for a drive, explore a different city.”

“That sounds good,” he said as he started to make his own coffee. “Any particular city you want to go to?”

“I'm not sure yet. I was thinking we could drive until something catches our eye,” she said with a smile before she took a sip of her coffee. “You know, I wanted to thank you, for staying here. I know you would probably much rather be at home than be here.”

“Hey, it's all right,” he said as he shook his head. “You don't feel safe and I want to make sure you are. I'll stay here until you tell me you don't need me here any more.”

“You really have changed,” she said with a smile, setting her coffee on the counter and moving closer. He turned to face her and when she got close enough he settled a hand on either side of her waist before pulling her closer. “I must be a good influence.”

“One of the best,” he said with a grin.

She leaned in “I should be rewarded for that.”

“Yes, you should.” He kissed her softly, and it would have been a lengthier kiss if his cell phone hadn't began to ring. He pulled away from her and moved a hand to pick it up off the counter. “It's Greg,” he said with a frown.

“I hope it's not bad news,” she said as he pulled away even more to answer it.

“Hey,” he said once he got the phone to his ear. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Greg said. “Thankfully. But something is going on and I need all of management to come into the office at four today. I'm still trying to get all the details, but there's a major change coming and some decisions need to be made, and I'd like everyone's input. Can you and Carol come in today? I promise tomorrow everyone will get their full day off.”

“Yeah, we can be there,” Kirk replied. “Four, right?”

“Yes. It shouldn't take very long, I think. I'll be having Sally and Sherlock here earlier. Molly too, probably. But the rest of you don't need to be here until four.”

“All right. We'll be there.”

“See you then,” Greg said, and then he hung up.

Kirk lowered his hand with the phone. “Change of plans today,” he said.

“I take it we need to go to work today?” she asked before taking another sip of her coffee.

“Something big is going down, I think.”

She was quiet. “I hope it's not bad news.”

“No, it's not. Greg assured me of that.” He picked up his coffee and drank some of it. “But I think there's going to be some changes coming.”

“Just what the company needs. More changes,” she said with a wry smile. “Well, I suppose we'll all handle them as well as we handled the rest.”

“I hope so,” he said with a grin. “You know, I don't think that bowl of cereal is going to be enough to tide me over. How about I make us breakfast?”

“I'd like that,” she said as her smile became less wry. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before taking her cup of coffee to the table. They began to talk as he cooked, and then he left to go get his own laundry from his place while she straightened up her apartment a bit. When he returned they went to the laundry room together and washed their clothes. They were carrying everything back up to her apartment and were almost at the door when she stilled. “He was here,” she said quietly, looking at the envelope sticking out from under the door.

Kirk set down his clothes and pulled the envelope out, opening it and pulling out two rectangular pieces of card stock. “Nope, wasn't him. I was talking to one of your neighbors yesterday, the violinist?” Carol nodded. “He said he would try and get me tickets to his next performance with his orchestra. I thought that would be a date you would appreciate.”

She relaxed and gave him a smile. “Oh, that sounds lovely. Sometimes I hear him practicing and I always linger a few moments to listen.” She set her clothes down and opened the door for them and they picked everything up and went inside. “I'm very glad John wasn't here. I don't like this feeling of being on edge all the time. Even with you being here I don't feel one hundred percent safe.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kirk said with a sigh. “Maybe soon he'll give up and go away.”

“One can hope.” She looked at her watch. “It's nearly noon, and we still have quite some time to spend before the meeting. What would you suggest we do?”

“You know, we could go get some lunch somewhere and go see a movie,” he said after a moment. “Just because we can't take a drive down the coast today doesn't mean we can't have a date today.”

“That sounds like an excellent suggestion,” she said with a smile. “Do I get to pick the movie?”

“I could agree to that, I think,” he said with a nod. “As long as it isn't a sappy chick flick.”

She chuckled. “I think I can pick something we can both agree on.” Then she heard her phone go off, informing her she had a text message. She pulled her phone out and read the message. “Nyota wants to have my input on a birthday gift for her boyfriend today after the meeting.”

“So it's a good thing we didn't go for a drive,” he said with a grin. “But that's fine. We can take separate cars and I can just go to my place for a bit. If nothing else I can put my clothes in the trunk for now and put them away, get some fresh clothes and stuff and then come back here when you're finished.”

“I'm sorry it's on such short notice,” she said as she got her keys again.

“I should have remembered his birthday was coming up. I mean, he's one of my best friends. Guess that means I need to figure out what to get him too.” He picked up his clothes again. “Where do we want to meet for lunch?”

“I'm in the mood for sushi,” she said. “And miso soup. And possibly some tempura.”

“Omni, then?” he asked, and she nodded. “Then let me get this stuff stowed and I'll meet you there.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. He made his way out the door first and she locked up after them. They made their way to the parking area and she went to her car while he went to his. He put his clothes in the trunk and then got into his car and drove to the restaurant. They got there around the same time and had an enjoyable lunch and then they hit a movie, a comedy that they both seemed to enjoy. By the time they picked up something to drink during the meeting and got to the park it was nearly four. They went to the turnstiles and met up with Spock and Nyota, who had waited for them. “Do either of you have any idea what this meeting is about?” Carol asked.

Spock shook his head. “I was not informed of the topic. I don't think any of us were, except perhaps the people Greg brought with him initially.”

“I hope they're not leaving,” Nyota said. “I just got used to all of them, and I like everyone, even Sherlock. Molly's becoming one of my best friends.”

“Mine too,” Carol said with a smile. “But Jim said it wasn't supposed to be bad news, and all of them leaving would constitute bad news, wouldn't you think?”

“I agree,” Spock said. “Perhaps they are some changes made to who is in charge of what, or other managerial positions opening up that he wants our opinions on.”

“I really hope that's the case,” Kirk said with a nod. “I don't want to lose any of our new friends.”

“Me either,” Carol said. They lapsed into silence as they made their way to the office, only to be greeted with Molly and the John who was their friend talking with grins on their faces. “So it isn't bad news?” Carol asked cautiously.

“A little bad, maybe, but not really,” John said. “It's good news, too. Things are just going to be a little different around here, that's all.”

“Are they here?” Greg asked from inside the manager's office.

“Yeah,everyone's here,” Molly called over.

Greg, Sally and Sherlock came out of the office as the others sat down in chairs. After a moment Sherlock moved over to Molly and sat down next to her. “All right. Sally has an announcement, first off. I'll let her share the good news.”

Sally grinned at him for a moment. “Well, I suppose I'll just come out and say it. I got a promotion, but it involves me going to another location, so I'll be leaving here. I'll be going to San Diego and managing the Hard Rock Cafe down there since the current manager has his hands full with Legoland California. So even though I'm going to miss everyone I'm quite excited.”

“Congratulations!” Nyota said with a smile.

“Yes, congratulations,” Carol said, getting up to go give her a hug. Sally hugged her back quickly. “When do you leave?”

“I start on Monday. But technically yesterday was my last day actually working here. I need to have meetings with the other manager and meet the staff. It's rather sudden, but everyone seems to think I'll do well.”

Greg gave her a grin as Carol made her way back to her seat. “So that leaves us with needing to have the assistant manager position filled,” he said when he turned back to everyone else. “Now, Chris said he would prefer if we hired from in house, and I agree. So I wanted your opinions on who should get Sally's position, and who we should promote to fill the newly vacated lead position that will open up. Let's figure out who we want filling the vacant spot first.”

“I'd go with Montgomery or Leonard,” Sherlock said. “Both are well respected here and had been with Lexington for some time before the company was sold.”

“Scotty might be a better choice, at least for now,” Kirk said thoughtfully. “I like Bones and all, but he's grumpy. Do we really want him handling angry customers?”

“I concur with Jim,” Spock said. “I know Mr. Scott came from a position of management before he came here. This job was very much a demotion for him. And I'm not altogether sure Mr. McCoy wants to be promoted.”

“They are your friends, Spock. You _can_ call them by their first names,” Kirk said with a grin, shaking his head.

“I think Scotty would be a good choice too,” John said. “He's pleasant enough most of the time, but I could see him handling irate customers better than Bones.”

“Does everyone more or less agree on this?” Greg asked, and everyone in the room nodded. “All right. So for right now we'll promote Scotty to a lead, and then we'll ask McCoy if he even wants a promotion and he'll be the next one. So now the question is who should become the assistant manager?”

“Jim,” Sherlock, John, Molly and Nyota said at nearly the same time.

“Does anyone want anyone else?” Greg asked, his eyes slightly wide. Everyone else shook their heads except Kirk, who looked just as surprised as Greg. “Is there any particular reason why all of you want him to fill that position?”

“The place wouldn't have run without him nearly as well before we got here,” Sherlock said. “And of everyone in this room I think every single employee would listen to him and respect him. If you promoted John, Molly or I I don't think the employees would give us due respect. Nyota and Carol were only recently promoted to leads. And no offense to you, Spock, but even though you've been here longer most people don't seem to listen to you the way they listen to Jim.”

“No offense is taken,” Spock said with a nod. “As it stands, he makes very valid points. I think Jim is the best choice.”

“What if I don't want the position?” Kirk asked quietly. Everyone turned to look at him, surprise evident on their faces. “I mean, with everything going on, I'm not even sure I want to stay here. I'm running myself ragged as it is, and I'm stressed. I've actually been debating whether I want to look for a new job somewhere else. Something less stressful.”

Greg looked at Kirk closely. “All right. Why don't we table this discussion for now. Jim, let's talk in the office for a moment. The rest of you can go ahead and go home and we can all talk about this again after work on Friday. All right?” Everyone nodded and there was a general murmur of agreement before people began to stand and head towards the door. Kirk stood up as well and then went into the office with Greg. Greg sat behind the desk and leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “You know, I actually quite admire you,” he said after a moment.

“Me? Why?” Kirk asked.

“If I'd worked under old management I'd have quit. But you stayed, and you shielded people from the abuse. You stood up for people who would have left otherwise, or at least would have left sooner than they did. You earned everyone's respect the old-fashioned way, and you've kept it. And you've earned the respect of everyone on my team. The fact that it was Sherlock who gave the compelling reasons for you to get the position was a really good sign that you should get it.”

“Why is that?” he asked curiously.

“Because of everyone from the team I brought he's the one I would have chosen if Sally hadn't come. Even with his gaffe he'd still make a very effective assistant manager. But no one would respect him the way they respect you. He's still earning everyone's respect here. But you have his, and he doesn't give that up easily, as you may have noticed.” Greg gave him a grin. “He can still be a bit of a prat.”

Kirk grinned slightly. “Yeah, that is true.”

“I'd really like you to at least try and see if you can do it,” Greg said. “Give me a month. If you don't want to keep doing it I'll do everything in my power to make sure you find an upper level management position somewhere else. I'll give you a glowing recommendation and I'm sure Pike will too. But if I'm right, in a month you'll be comfortable and settled and you won't want to leave.”

Kirk thought about it for a few minutes. It wouldn't hurt to give Greg a month, he decided. In a month he could reevaluate and see how he felt then. And hopefully in a month all the drama with the former management would settle as well and that would be a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders. “All right. I'll give you a month.”

“Excellent!” Greg said as his smile widened. “I don't think you'll regret it, Jim.” He stood up and extended his hand forward, and Kirk stood and shook his hand. “We can talk more about everything on Friday. Enjoy the rest of your time off for now.”

“I will,” he replied. He turned and left the office, making his way back out to the parking lot. He saw Spock and Nyota at the guard shack, and Nyota looked spooked. “Hey. What happened?” he asked.

“He left a message on Sherlock's car,” Nyota said quietly.

Kirk didn't need to know any more that that. He pushed past the turnstiles and made his way out to the lot. It was empty save for a few cars and three people. He made his way closer to the others and saw that Sherlock was more upset than he'd ever seen him before, and when he got close enough he could see why. The car was completely vandalized; all of the windows had been cracked, the two tires he could see were slashed, and there was something spray painted on the trunk. “Holy shit,” Kirk said quietly as he got close to Molly and Carol.

“He's gone too far,” Sherlock said darkly. He gestured to the words spray painted on the car. Kirk got closer and read them. They said “Next time I'll take her from you.” Kirk looked over at Molly, who Carol was trying valiantly to comfort. “This has to stop. I have to stop it.”

“Sherlock, no,” Molly said, her eyes wide. “He'll hurt you, or worse. If he can do this under security's watch there's no telling what he'll do to you if you two are alone.”

“I can't keep living in fear. None of us can. This has to stop and it has to stop _now_ ,” he said, moving over towards her. Carol removed her arm from Molly's shoulders when he got close enough. “I am not going to let him hurt me. But I'm not going to let him terrorize us anymore.”

“I'll go with you,” Kirk said.

“Don't you dare do something stupid,” Carol said. “Either of you.”

“I'll make sure he doesn't,” Kirk said.

“You had best make those same assurances for yourself,” Carol said.

“I'll try not to do anything too stupid,” he said in response as security came over with Spock and Uhura.

They talked to Sherlock for a bit, getting all the information they could, but when they suggested he call the police and press charges he declined. After a few more moments they went back to the guard shack. “I'll take Molly home with me,” Carol said to Sherlock and Kirk.

“I'll come over too, just in case whatever it is the two of them are planning doesn't work,” Nyota said. She glanced over at her boyfriend. “Can you come with us?”

Spock nodded. “Of course. I will stay there to keep watch over everyone,” he said.

“Thank you,” Sherlock said. He went over to Molly and framed her face in his hands. “I will stay safe. Promise me you will do the same.”

“I promise,” she said with a nod. She embraced him and he held her for a minute, shutting his eyes. Then he let go and she went over to the others, following Carol to her car.

Kirk watched them go. “So. We're not going to do anything that's going to get us arrested, are we?” he asked Sherlock.

“I am hoping we don't, but that depends on how my half-brother takes the news I'm about to deliver,” he said as they began to walk towards Kirk's car in the opposite direction. “Yesterday morning I called my brother after a certain note was left outside Molly's apartment. I found it before she did and disposed of it.”

“What was it?” he asked.

“A week ago I stopped sleeping on her sofa. At some point since he broke into her home and got a picture of us together, asleep. There was a red X on me with the message 'I can kill him quite easily. Then you'll be mine.' She did not need to see that.”

Kirk's eyes widened. “No, absolutely not. That would have made her freaked out beyond belief.”

“Precisely. I called my father immediately and told him about the entire situation. When I told him John had threatened to kill me he said Mycroft would come here and take care of things. He should be arriving in an hour or so, but I want to put a scare into him, see if that will get him to back off before Mycroft arrives.” He was quiet for a moment. “My father may have written the two of us off, but if John were to murder me that would cause a scandal, especially if it came out that my father was the reason he's not rotting in jail for the crimes he committed back home. He can see that he needs to step in and take responsibility for a situation he made bad getting worse. The whole thing being laid at his feet would be a publicity nightmare, and his image is all he cares about.”

“Your father is a bastard,” Kirk said, shaking his head.

“I agree wholeheartedly. But even an unrepentant bastard will take steps when he has to.” They got to Kirk's car. “I sincerely doubt that the world will be rid of my half-brother until he angers the wrong person and they finally off him, but hopefully he will no longer be a problem for any of us.” Kirk unlocked his car and got in, then unlocked the passenger side door. Sherlock get in. “I'll tell you how to get to his home.”

“All right,” Kirk said with a nod. He turned his car on and backed out of his parking lot. Other than Sherlock giving directions the two men stayed silent as they drove. Finally Sherlock told him to park outside of a complex of condominiums. Kirk did and the two men got out. “Which one is he in?” Kirk asked.

Sherlock pointed to one on the left. “The upstairs one there. Follow me.”

“How do you know where he lives, anyway?” Kirk asked as they made their way to the entrance.

“I looked it up in his employee file,” Sherlock said with a shrug. “I thought having that knowledge could benefit me at some point. I've memorized how to get here in case I needed to force a confrontation. I had just hoped I wouldn't need to do that.” They made their way through the entrance and then to the stairs. Sherlock got to the door and pounded on it. “Open this door, John. I know you're in there. I saw your light was on,” he said loudly.

“There was silence for a moment, and then the sound of a lock being turned. The door opened and John lounged in the doorway, smirk on his face and bottle of beer in his hand. “Temper, temper, dear brother.”

“You're going to stop harassing me, my girlfriend and my friends,” he said, staring at his half-brother. “And you're going to leave all of us alone for a very long time. Forever, most likely.”

John brought the beer up to his lips and took a sip. “Who's going to stop me? You?” he asked. Then he pointed to Kirk with the bottle. “Him? I could have a bit of fun with his tart, too.”

“No,” Sherlock said, a slow grin spreading on his face as John took another sip of his drink. “Mycroft.”

John's eyes widened and he spat out the beer. “You wouldn't,” he said quietly.

“I _did_ ,” Sherlock said, and this time he was wearing the smug look. “You never should have let yourself into her apartment and taken that picture. That was the impetus I needed to get the two people in the world who scare you involved. Mycroft should be arriving within the hour. If I were you, _dear_ brother, I would pack up and run. Not that Mycroft won't track you down eventually, but if you're lucky you might get a few more days of freedom. Because you know what he threatened the last time.”

John had paled considerably. “He wouldn't dare.”

“Oh, trust me, he would. You are a problem that doesn't have the decency to disappear. You know Mycroft has connections. If Father thinks you're too much of a loose end, who knows what he'll have Mycroft do?” Sherlock had a smirk on his face. “Run away, John. Run away and do a better job of staying under the radar this time. Maybe then Mycroft won't resort to drastic measures.” John dropped the bottle and then turned, slamming the door in Sherlock's face. Sherlock turned and looked at Kirk. “I think the threat will be taken care of now.”

“What exactly did your brother threaten to do to him?” Kirk asked, his eyes wide as they turned to leave.

“Chemical castration,” Sherlock said with a shrug. “Forcibly, too. Mycroft has his hands in many different things, the majority of which are legal. But he knows a few...unsavory...people who owe him favors. I doubt Mycroft would actually _do_ it, but the fact that Mycroft is on his way here and that was the last threat our older brother issued to him should put the scare in him.”

“Why didn't you do this before?” he asked.

“My father would have written it off as garden level harassment,” Sherlock said. “But the fact he threatened to kill me couldn't be ignored.”

“But he could ignore the rape threat?”

“As long as it was only a threat. If he had actually done something my father would have taken steps, but by then it would have been too late.” He looked over at Kirk as they made their way down the stairs. “My father has a decidedly dim view on women in general. It's why my mother left him. He's on wife number three now, a woman younger than me who enjoys the lavish lifestyle but doesn't really have any substantial thoughts in her head to trouble him.”

“You know how I said earlier your father was a bastard?” Kirk asked. Sherlock nodded. “That was an understatement.”

“At least you never had to live with him,” he said. “He tried to inflict that point of view on the three of us. Only John listened and took notes. Mycroft treats women rather well, from what I've seen. Not that he's had much of a social life, you understand. He's married to his work, which is probably better for the world.”

“Why?”

“He's in politics. He'll probably settle down with a wife eventually, especially if he has any hopes of moving to a loftier position. I sincerely doubt a bachelor would ever become Prime Minister, but you never know.” They made their way back to Kirk's car and he unlocked it and they got in. “Thank you for accompanying me.”

“Hey, no problem. I'll admit, that was pretty satisfying to watch.” Kirk started his car. “Feel like getting a drink? I don't know about you but I could use one. Or several.”

Sherlock appeared to debate the idea for a moment, then nodded. “I could go for a pint right now.”

“I know just where to go.” They stayed silent as they drove, each lost in their own thoughts, until Kirk pulled up to the bar he went to with Scotty, McCoy and John after work. They went inside and sat at the bar, placing their orders. Once they got them they began to drink, still staying quiet. When they were about halfway done Kirk spoke. “So you think it's actually over?”

Sherlock nodded. “Yes. I'm just waiting to hear from Mycroft, but I think a sufficient scare has been put into John. I don't think he will trouble us anymore.” He had some of his drink. “If we're lucky he'll leave the country and stay away. Find some place where he thinks my brother won't find him.”

“Well, if I was facing what he was I'd try and hide too,” Kirk said thoughtfully. “I mean, I think if anyone deserves it it's him, but I'd be looking over my shoulder for a really long time.”

“I think that's an appropriate punishment for all the hell he's put us through. I will admit, one or two good things may have come from it, but overall it's been a headache. I'm glad it's over.”

“Yeah. You and Molly probably never would have started dating otherwise,” he said.

“We probably would have eventually,” Sherlock said. “I think it was fairly obvious to everyone that we fancied each other. Eventually one of us would have made some sort of attempt to broach the idea to the other. Probably me. Molly has a habit of being quite shy when it comes to matters of the heart.”

“You saw her date other people?”

Sherlock nodded. “I've known her for five years. After her last boyfriend, a man named Jim, she swore off dating. That was two years ago, and she held to that. I didn't think she would break that vow, even for me. Apparently I was mistaken.” He had more of his drink. “I'm glad she made an exception for me. Despite the circumstances, I think we've been able to make each other happy.”

“Yeah, we've all kind of seen that,” Kirk said with a grin before drinking some more beer. “You're really lucky.”

“I suppose I am.” He looked as though he was going to say more when his phone rang. “Excuse me. It's Mycroft.” He got off his stool as he answered his phone, heading towards the door. Kirk stayed where he was, sipping more of his beer. He was almost finished with the glass when he came back. “John left in a hurry. He found half open drawers and clothes strewn all over. He said he would look for him to ensure he was no longer a problem, but I doubt he will trouble us again.”

“That's good to know,” Kirk said with a nod. “I guess you can tell Molly it's safe to go home.”

“Yes.” He looked at Kirk intently. “You know, if you leave then you're an idiot.”

“What?” Kirk asked, confused.

“The park. If you really think going somewhere where you know absolutely no one is better than staying at a job where you have friends, then you're an idiot. You should stay here. It would be best for everyone involved.” he paused. “I have very few friends, and I suppose I consider you one of them. I'm not in the mood to lose any of the few friends I have here.”

Kirk gave him a slight grin. “So you're staying I should stay for you?”

“No, I'm saying you should stay for your own best interest. It just helps to know you have one more friend at this job.” He moved away from the bar slightly. “I would very much appreciate a ride to Carol's home. Molly deserves to be able to go home and feel safe.”

“Give me a chance to finish this,” he said, picking up his beer.

Sherlock nodded. “I'll be outside, informing Molly of what happened.” He turned and left the bar at that point. Kirk looked at his glass, then knocked the rest of it back. He thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and pulled up Greg's number.

Greg picked up on the third ring. “Jim? What is it?”

“I'll take the job, no strings attached. No trying it out for a month.”

“Really? What happened?”

“I think my life just got a lot less stressful. Want me to come in early Friday to go over details?”

“I think that would be best. There's paperwork for you to fill out since you'll be salaried now, and I need to go over the responsibilities. Does seven thirty work for you?”

“Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll see you then.”

“See you then, Jim.” Greg hung up at that point, and Kirk lowered his phone before putting it in his pocket and heading towards the door. This was a good step to take, he thought to himself. This was a fresh start, and this was just what he needed.


	8. Chapter 8

**One Year Later**

Kirk sat in the office, looking around. Everything seemed the same, but it was also drastically different. There had been a lot going on in the last year: more promotions, strengthened friendships, and even a marriage. Once John Harrison had left the city to sights unseen it seemed as though things settled into something that was better than what it had been before.

“Hey, boss, can I get some help on something?” a young man asked from the open doorway.

Kirk blinked. He was still getting used to the fact that he was the guy in charge at this branch of Alistair Photography. Greg had decided to retire and go back to England, but he had strongly recommended to Pike that Kirk take over as opposed to hiring someone from outside the company. Everyone who worked under him also endorsed the idea, and so when Pike offered him the on-site manager position he accepted. It was just made official a week ago and so there was still a newness to it. He was sure soon enough it would stop giving him pause when someone referred to him as the boss. “What do you need?” he asked.

“I have a customer who was at Tin Type Alley and ordered the photos in black and white. She just realized half of them are sepia toned, but she took them four days ago and they're out of the system.”

Kirk thought for a moment. “Is her whole family here?”

“Yeah. Her, her husband, two daughters and her son.”

“Is she willing to repose?”

“I don't know.”

Kirk leaned back in his seat. “If they'll repose, give them the best package on the house and let them keep all the old photos. We screwed up, and it's our responsibility to make things right. If they won't repose issue a full refund but let her keep all the photos. If she wants to speak to me in person come back and get me.”

“Got it. Thanks, boss.”

“You handled that quite well,” Sherlock said as soon as the door shut. “Even if it is going to cost us in terms of employee hours and profits.”

“Yeah, well, we fucked up the order,” he said, lacing his fingers together and putting his hands behind his head. “What would you have done?”

“Issued the refund and let them keep the photos, and that's all.”

“That's why I'm manager and you're not,” he said with a chuckle. “She'll buy more from us because we fixed the problem. And she won't drag our name in the mud for being dicks about our screw-up.”

“Just remember that I am assistant manager now and if anything happens to you I'll probably be put in charge,” he pointed out, lifting his head up from the paperwork he was working on. “I will admit most policies would stay in place but there are a few I would change.”

“You know, you _can_ tell me what you'd change and we can see about working those suggestions in, or coming to compromises over them.” Kirk removed his hands and unlaced his fingers. He lowered his hands and then pointed back and forth between him and Sherlock. “We need to work on our communication skills.”

“Funny. My wife says the same thing, and I find that instills more fear in me than when you say it,” he said with a slight grin.

“I've seen Molly get angry. I'd be scared if I was you, too,” he said with a chuckle. “Speaking of you being married, how was the honeymoon?”

“I would have preferred to stay indoors the entire time, preferably not leaving the bedroom, but she insisted we actually do things. I suppose there are interesting things in Hawaii, but I was also fairly sure that was not the real point of a honeymoon.”

“Did she have fun, though?”

He nodded. “Yes. And I will admit I enjoyed a few of the activities as well. But I suppose it is more important that she enjoyed herself.” He leaned back in his chair. “Are you considering making the same sort of commitment to Carol any time soon?”

Kirk didn't say anything. He reached for the key to the locked drawer on his desk and unlocked it, then pulled out a small jewelry box and tossed it over to Sherlock, who caught it easily. “Still trying to figure out a way to ask.”

Sherlock opened up the box and glanced at the ring. “It doesn't look new,” he said.

“It was my mother's, from when she married my father,” Kirk said quietly. “She has the ring my stepfather gave her on her hand, and when I told her I was considering proposing she had this ring sent to me. I think Carol would appreciate the sentimental value.”

“I think she would as well,” Sherlock said with a nod, closing the lid. He stood up and took the box back to Kirk. “However you do it, don't do it the way I did.”

Kirk chuckled. “Yeah. Molly told Carol about the first proposal and the slammed door in your face. You're really lucky she calmed down before you proposed the second time.”

“I love Molly, I do, but there are times I really do not understand her moods. She's been like this for the last two months or so. I thought it would be the stress of planning a wedding so quickly but since that's over I don't know what's going on.”

“Is she pregnant?” Kirk asked.

Sherlock's eyes widened. “Oh, God. I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility.”

“If I was you I would go find out.” He checked his watch. “If she's home you have forty-five minutes of lunch coming up and it's only a five minute drive to your complex. Have her go get a test and then go home while she does it. That's news you should be around for.”

“I may just do that,” Sherlock said. “I'll go call her now.”

“Hey, if she is? Make sure I'm one of the first to know.”

Sherlock nodded and pulled his cell phone out as he went to the door. “I will.” With that, he opened the door and made his way out of the office.

The door had only been shut mere seconds when it opened again and McCoy and Scotty came in. “We had a screaming banshee at Mother Lode,” Scotty said wearily. “She's demanding a manager with more authority than either of us have.”

“I tried to take care of it but she wants you, Jim,” McCoy said. “Today is one of those days where I really hate the fact I'm in management.”

Kirk sighed and got up from behind the desk. “What's the problem?”

“One of her precious kids flipped off the camera,” McCoy grumbled as Kirk made his way over to them. “Rebecca moderated the photo since that's company policy, but she doesn't believe that one of her, and I quote, 'wonderful and well-behaved children' would ever do anything like that. But Rebecca signed into the computer on her name and not retail so she can't unblock it.”

“Let's go unblock them, print out a copy and then show her he did. Or she did?” Kirk asked with a frown.

“She,” Scotty said. “I'm the one who told her to moderate all three of the photos the lass showed up in while I was helping to train Isaiah. _I_ tried to get her to calm down, and then McCoy tried, and she was still going on about it as we made our way down here to the rover office.”

“So she's at the rover office? With Sulu?” Kirk asked with wide eyes. Scotty and McCoy nodded and he sighed. “I'll go take care of it. Do you have the photo numbers?”

Scotty handed him a slip of paper. “This is all of them.”

“Go back up to the ride, Scotty. Rebecca knows what she's doing but I think it's going to take Isaiah a while to catch up. I don't like the idea of him being left with just her at the moment.”

“Right,” Scotty said with a nod before leaving.

“Remind me again why the two of us got promotions?” McCoy asked as he and Kirk made their way to the rover office.

“Because I wanted to torture you as much as I got tortured?” Kirk said with a grin.

“That sounds about right,” McCoy responded.

“Seriously, though. You guys have the experience and you're trustworthy and I'd rather promote you two than anyone else. We already lost Sally, Spock, Nyota and Greg this year. I don't need more good workers leaving when they can be promoted.”

“How are Spock and Nyota doing at Six Flags, anyway?” McCoy asked.

“They're doing really well. They might start rivaling us for sales if they keep it up.” Then he grinned. “Did you get an invite to the wedding?”

“I did,” he said. “This whole friends getting married thing is becoming troubling. Please tell me you aren't considering making the same move.” Kirk looked down. “Really, Jim? You? Settling down and getting married?”

“Hey, you, Scotty and John can be confirmed bachelors for a long while yet,” Kirk said. “But yeah. I think it's serious enough, and I think Carol would say yes. I mean, we already live together. That's pretty serious, right?”

“Don't screw up the proposal like Sherlock did, that's all I'm saying,” McCoy said with a sigh.

“Have any ideas?”

“Nice dinner, don't hide the ring in any food, go to her favorite beach. I don't know. She's _your_ girlfriend.” McCoy shook his head. “I just can't believe you're considering getting _married_. I never thought that would happen, even with Carol.”

“Yeah, well, people change,” Kirk said with a shrug as they got into the rover office. He saw a woman launching a tirade at Sulu, who was starting to lose his temper. “I should go save him, shouldn't I?”

“A good boss would,” McCoy said with a nod.

“And I'm trying to be a good boss,” Kirk said with a grin before going over to Sulu. He took over the customer at that point, unblocking the photos and proving that yes, her precious little angel had flipped off the camera. The woman was abashed and went away, and Sulu gave him a grateful smile. He left him and McCoy in the rover office and made his way back to the other office. When he got to the employee area he paused as his phone rang. He pulled it out and saw it was Carol. “Hey,” he said as he answered. “How did the meeting go?”

“It was brutal, but I think I did well. I think I managed to convince my adviser that my theories were solid and my hypothesis was valid within the parameters of the experiments I intended to run,” she said. “Did we still want to attempt to have a date tonight?”

“Well, if you need to work on schoolwork we can do it this weekend,” he said.

“No. Definitely not. If I spend another minute trying to cram facts into my head for my thesis it will explode. My adviser would probably disagree, stating that it's not physically possible for a head to explode for that reason, but she's an overly literal prat. I hope that when I start working on my doctorate I can get a new adviser.”

Kirk chuckled. “I'll take you somewhere nice, then. Give you a night to feel normal.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful. Any particular place?”

“Not sure yet. But it will be nice, I promise. Make sure you wear something to make all the other men envious.”

This time she laughed. “I think I have just the dress, then. When do you think you'll be done at work?”

“I should be home around six. Maybe a little later if the day keeps going in the direction it's going. But plan for six.”

“I will. I'll see you when you get home.”

“All right. Bye, Carol.”

“Bye, Jim.”

He hung up at the point and started to grin. Tonight. He'd do it tonight. And he had faith it would all go well because really, life was good right now. Life was better than he could have expected, and he was thankful for that.


End file.
